«,/A*IRO 


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RLUST 


of  ti)e 

Wini\ytv6itv  of  i?ortl)  Carolina 


Collection  of  Moxti^  Caroliniana 


This  book  must  not 
be  taken  from  the 
Library  building. 


m^^  I1IL£  HiAS  6££N  MlCKOjiLMED 


Form  No.  471 


•'With    one    Grand    Plunge    I    Grabbed    the    Rail    of    the 
Baggage    Car." 


( Wanderlust) 


WANDERLUST 


BY 

ROBERT  R.  REYNOLDS 


« 


BROADWAY  PUBLISHING  CO, 

835  Broadway,  New  York 
1913 


Copyright,  1913, 

BY 
BROADWAY  PUBLISHING  CO. 


TO 
Hon.  O.  max  GARDNER 

AND 

BERNARD  M.  CONLON, 
THE  COMRADES  IN  MANY  OF  THE  ADVENTURES 
RECITED  HEREIN. 


WANDERLUST 


CHAPTER  I. 

Well  I  remember  my  first  escapade,  and  as  I  sit 
here  to-night  writing  these  memoirs,  most  vividly 
do  I  recall  some  thrilling  experiences  which  occurred 
in  the  pine  fields  and  on  the  sand  hills  of  Florida.  I. 
was  then  about  fourteen  years  old  and  had  just  re- 
turned to  the  preparatory  college  after  a  most  enjoy- 
able vacation.  While  at  home  I  began  to  love  the 
open  life  and  to  long  for  the  grassy  sarannaks,  the 
orange  groves  and  the  pine  belts  of  the  southland. 

I  had  been  thinking  of  running  away  for  some 
time,  being  of  a  roving  disposition  and  adventurous 
spirit,  which,  at  this  particular  time,  was  fostered  by 
the  reading  of  dime  novels  and  tales  of  adventure. 

One  bitterly  cold  night  in  January  I  sat  by  the  fire 
and  read  of  Jesse  James  and  his  desperate  gang  of 
outlaws  until  midnight.  Eighteen  months'  confine- 
ment in  college  with  the  check  rein  taut  was  more 
than  the  embryo  hero  could  possibly  stand. 

The  clock  struck  twelve  as  I  closed  my  book,  and, 
reaching  over,  I  stirred  up  the  fading  embers.  I  sat 
there  and  thought  of  the  desperadoes  of  whom  I  had 
been  reading,  how  heroic  it  would  be  to  fight  them, 
to  have  so  many  exciting  adventures  and  hair-breadth 

I 


WANDERLUST 

escapes.  The  embers  were  dead  when  I  finally  de- 
cided on  my  plan  of  action.  Sitting  down  at  the 
little  writing  table  I  wrote  the  following  note : 

My  Dear  Mrs.  : 

I  have  been  thinking  of  running  away  for  a  long  time. 
To-night  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  do  so.  I  leave  for 
Charleston  this  morning  on  the  two  fifteen  train.  Please 
send  my  trunk  home. 

Yours  very  respectfully. 

Jack. 

I  folded  the  note,  addressed  it,  and  left  it  lying 
on  the  table ;  then  I  arose,  opened  the  door,  and  stole 
silently  along  the  hallway  and  down  the  stairs  out 
into  the  darkness  and  cold.  My  shoes  I  carried  in 
my  hand,  but  before  stepping  off  the  porch  I  sat 
down  and  laced  them  on  again.  It  was  two  miles 
and  a  half  to  the  nearest  railroad.  I  hastened  along 
the  deserted  highway  and  reached  the  station,  just  in 
time  to  purchase  my  ticket  and  board  the  train. 

Two  days  later  I  stood  on  the  wharf  of  the  Clyde 
Line  Steamship  Company  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  think- 
ing of  home,  and  the  dear  ones  I  had  left  behind. 
There  I  was,  three  hundred  miles  away  from  friends 
and  acquaintances,  and  not  one  cent  with  which  to 
purchase  my  next  meal.  The  day  before  I  had  ar- 
rived at  Charleston  with  just  ten  cents  in  my  pocket, 
and  a  dollar  Ingersoll  watch.  I  had  not  been  there 
more  than  two  hours  before  I  succeeded  in  selling 
my  watch  to  a  negro.  It  was  my  first  watch,  too, 
and  boylike,  I  had  been  inordinately  proud  of  it,  but 
the  adventurer  must  be  fed  and  lodged,  and  so  the 
valued  timepiece  was  sacrificed. 

2 


WANDERLUST 

Candidly,  I  longed  to  be  back  in  college,  for,  no 
outlaw  appearing  in  my  immediate  neighborhood,  it 
seemed  as  though  I  had  reached  the  end  of  my 
tether.  After  standing  there  on  the  wharf  for  some 
time,  worrying  over  the  situation  and  gazing  over 
the  blue  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  new  courage  seized 

me. 

I  boarded  a  ship  which  was  anchored  by,  and  m- 
quired  for  the  second  officer.  Being  told  that  I 
would  find  him  on  the  upper  deck,  I  proceeded 
thither  and  found  the  said  individual  giving  orders 
to  a  greasy  squad  of  sailors.  Stepping  up  to  him, 
I  inquired  if  he  would  allow  me  to  work  my  way 
to  Jacksonville,  Florida.  He  asked  me  if  I  had  ever 
been  to  sea,  and  I  replied  in  the  affirmative. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "be  aboard  by  five  o'clock  this 
afternoon,  and  I  will  put  you  to  work  cleaning 
brasses.'' 

We  sailed  at  the  set  time,  and  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  seco?id  day  out,  while  polishing  brass  on  the 
railing  of  the  upper  deck,  a  man  approached  me 
and  introduced  himself  as  Captain  Hastings.  ^  After 
a  short  conversation,  he  told  me  that  he  was  in  need 
of  a  young  man  on  his  farm,  which  was  in  Florida, 
and  he  concluded  by  asking  if  I  would  take  a  posi- 
tion with  him.  I  asked  him  what  kind  of  work  I 
would  have  to  do,  what  salary  he  would  pay  and 
where  his  farm  was  located.  He  replied  that  he 
would  want  me  to  carry  the  mail  on  horseback  Mon- 
days, Wednesdays  and  Saturdays  from  the^  railroad 
station  to  his  farm,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  He 
further  added,  that  his  farm  was  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  below  Jacksonville,  on  Haw   Creek,  a 

3 


WANDERLUST 

branch  of  the  St.  John's  River,  and  that  he  would 
furnish  a  horse  and  give  me  twenty  dollars  a  month. 
I  jumped  at  the  chance. 

While  talking  with  this  gentleman  the  second 
officer  came  along  and  instructed  me  to  go  below 
and  assist  in  washing  dishes.  I  was  glad  to  do  this, 
for  it  was  very  windy  on  deck  and  I  had  already 
contracted  a  cold.  The  waiters  on  board  the  ship 
were  negroes,  one  of  whom  I  shall  remember  always 
for  the  little  disagreeable  encounter  that  took  place 
between  us.  Southern  born,  I  had  been  taught  to 
make  a  negro  respect  me,  and  even  in  my  menial 
position  I  could  not  suffer  myself  to  be  bulldozed. 
Every  time  he  came  in  the  dish-closet  to  empty  his 
tray  in  the  sink  he  would  make  some  insulting  re- 
mark, sneer  and  brush  rudely  against  me. 

I  realized  my  position.  Knowing  that  the  odds 
were  against  me,  I  held  my  temper  to  the  very  last 
moment.  I  told  him  to  mind  his  own  business  or 
else  there  would  be  trouble.  At  this  remark,  he 
slapped  me  in  the  face  and  said,  "Don't  talk  to  me, 
you  poor  white  trash." 

I  did  not  attempt  revenge  at  that  moment,  al- 
though the  blood  in  my  veins  was  running  hot  with 
anger,  but  waited  for  a  suitable  opportunity,  and 
it  was  not  long  in  coming.  A  few  moments  later, 
as  he  was  walking  through  a  curtained  door,  carry- 
ing a  tray  heavily  laden  with  dishes,  I  turned  and 
caught  him  squarely  on  the  cheek  with  a  big  coffee 
cup,  which  caused  him  to  drop  dishes  and  all  as  he 
fell  to  the  floor  bleeding.  This  blow  rendered  him 
unconscious,  and  that  part  of  the  ship  was  put  in 
disorder. 

4 


WANDERLUST 

I  thought  the  other  negroes  would  mob  me  before 
I  could  make  my  escape,  but,  jumping  through  an 
open  window,  I  gained  the  deck  and  ascended  to 
the  officers'  quarters,  where  I  presented  myself  to  the 
captain,  asking  for  protection  and  telling  him  what 
had  occurred.  He  listened  kindly,  and  taking  pity 
on  me,  a  boy  of  fourteen,  he  promised  me  protection 
until  we  arrived  in  Jacksonville. 

This  affair  was  the  talk  of  the  ship  until  we  ar- 
rived in  port,  and  just  as  we  were  anchoring  I  was 
told  by  the  second  officer  that  the  negro  intended 
having  me  arrested  by  the  city  officials.  Becoming 
aware  of  this,  I  informed  Captain  Hastings,  and  he 
volunteered  to  see  me  safely  ashore,  and  also  to 
place  me  on  board  the  "City  of  Jacksonville,"  a 
small  steamer  which  was  to  carry  us  to  Crescent 
City,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
miles  from  Jacksonville,  and  fifteen  miles  from  his 
home. 

We  left  Jacksonville  in  the  morning  and  arrived 
at  Crescent  City  about  six  o'clock  the  same  evening, 
where  we  spent  the  night.  That  day,  as  we  were 
steaming  up  the  St.  John's  River,  I  became  hungry 
between  meals,  as  boys  generally  do,  so  I  went  to 
the  chef  and  traded  a  little  imitation  diamond  ring 
for  a  couple  of  ham  sandwiches. 

I  had  not  written  home  since  my  departure,  con- 
sequently, that  night  at  Crescent  City  I  indulged  in 
a  second  commercial  adventure.  I  traded  a  gold 
v/atch  chain  for  a  two  cent  stamp,  paper,  and  en- 
velope and  informed  my  people  of  my  whereabouts 
and  of  my  future  intentions. 

We  put  up,  so  to  speak,  at  one  of  the  small  hotels 

5 


WANDERLUST 

of  the  town,  for  the  night,  and  I  bunked  in  a  room 
with  two  men  who  were  accompanying  Captain 
Hastings  to  his  turpentine  farm,  where  they  were 
going  to  serve  as  overseers.  This  was  their  second 
winter  on  his  farm,  and  before  going  to  sleep  that 
night  they  told  me  many  stories  of  the  big  plantation, 
its  hundreds  of  negroes,  horses,  cattle,  turpentine 
stills,  and  alligators.  They  took  special  delight  in 
reciting  the  brutal  murders  committed  by  the  out- 
laws, who  at  that  time  were  roaming  throughout  the 
section.  All  of  this  did  not  frighten  me,  however, 
nerved  as  I  was  by  home-sickness,  and  the  fear  of 
finding  myself  unromantically  lodged  in  jail. 

At  Crescent  City  the  next  morning,  Captain  Hast- 
ings* private  launch  met  us,  and  we  moved  down 
Haw  Creek  to  his  place,  arriving  about  noon.  The 
same  afternoon  I  made  arrangements  for  board  with 
Jim  Hughes  (a  young  married  man),  who  had  lived 
on  the  place  several  years  and  who  was  head  stable 
man. 

Monday  morning  I  mounted  the  pony  which  was 
given  me,  and  was  off  for  the  station.  I  reached 
the  station  late  that  afternoon,  making  slow  time 
because  the  roads  were  very  bad  and  swampy,  and 
by  sunrise  the  next  morning  I  was  five  miles  on 
my  way  back  to  the  farm  with  saddle  bags  full  of 
mail  and  packages. 

The  pony  was  a  sturdy  little  rascal  with  shaggy 
mane  and  tail.  His  name  was  Billy,  and  the  more 
I  rode  him  the  more  I  liked  to  have  him  carry  me 
swiftly  to  and  from  the  mail  station.  Whenever  I 
went  into  his  stall  to  feed  him  he  would  always  put 

6 


\\^  A  N  D  E  R  L  U  S  T 

his  shaggy  head  over  my  shoulders  and  whinny  as 
if  to  say,  "I'm  ready  for  it." 

I  stayed  around  the  ranch  a  few  weeks  until  I 
tired  of  the  monotony  of  those  daily  rides,  and 
even  Billy  could  not  hold  me.  So  one  morning  I 
gathered  my  few  belongings  together,  tied  them  up 
in  a  little  brown  sweater,  bade  all  goodby  and  pro- 
ceeded on  foot  to  Barbersville.  I  took  to  the  road 
early  in  the  morning,  that  I  might  have  ample  time 
to  make  the  distance  in  two  days. 

The  road  was  a  sandy  one,  leading  through  deso- 
late, lonely  woods,  the  same  road  over  which  the 
little  pony  had  borne  me  many  a  time.  It  was  diffi- 
cult walking,  for  there  were  many  swamps  and  miles 
of  sand  roads.  I  plodded  silently  and  slowly  on  my 
way,  arriving  at  the  half  way  camp  about  dusk. 
This  was  a  lumber  camp,  established  temporarily, 
and  I  knew  some  of  the  boys,  as  I  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  pass  there  on  my  way  to  the  post  office. 
Often  I  used  to  make  small  purchases  in  Barbers- 
ville for  the  boys  at  this  camp,  and  they  were  glad 
to  shelter  me  over  night. 

We  sat  around  the  fireside,  relating  stories.  By 
sunrise  the  next  morning  I  was  on  my  way,  and  at 
four  o'clock  that  afternoon  I  strolled  into  town.  I 
walked  down  the  railroad  track  to  where  an  empty 
box  car  was  standing,  and  after  gaining  an  entrance 
I  proceeded  to  change  my  socks  and  trousers,  for 
I  had  braved  more  than  one  stream  between  the 
camp  and  the  station. 

Folding  my  wet  garments  in  the  brown  sweater,  I 
strapped  it  on  my  shoulders,  and  walked  down  the 

7 


WANDERLUST 

railroad  track,  a  hike  towards  Sanford.     Nightfall 
came  shortly,  and  I  became  hungry. 

Through  the  dusk  I  sighted  a  small  house,  so  I 
left  the  track  and  struck  out  across  the  marshy 
lands,  towards  it.  After  crawling  under  several 
wire  fences  and  beating  off  a  dog  with  my  stick,  I 
finally  arrived  at  the  door.  I  rapped,  and  at  my  call 
there  appeared  an  old  lady.  I  informed  her  of  my 
predicament,  and  she  went  to  the  cupboard  and 
brought  forth  a  big  chunk  of  meat  and  a  piece  of 
bread,  which  was  eagerly  accepted,  I  can  assure  you. 
I  thanked  her  kindly,  and  turned  back  to  the  rail- 
road. 

By  this  time  it  had  grown  dark,  and  I  was  unable 
to  find  my  way.  I  walked  for  at  least  half  an  hour, 
and  then  realized  that  I  was  lost.  I  stopped  and 
took  in  the  situation.  The  light  I  could  no  longer 
sight.  There  I  was,  lost  in  the  swamps  of  Florida. 
What  was  I  to  do?  To  my  right  I  sighted  through 
the  darkness  an  object  which  looked  like  a  mound 
of  some  description.  On  investigating  it  proved  to 
be  a  haystack.  This,  indeed,  afforded  a  great 
treat,  for  in  the  side  of  it  I  burrowed  a  hole  where 
I  buried  myself  for  the  night.  Being  tired  and  sore 
from  my  two  days'  journey,  I  did  not  move  from 
my  comfortable  nest  until  fully  three  hours  after 
sunrise. 

I  yawned,  stretched  my  rested  limbs,  rubbed  my 
eyes,  and  crawled  out  of  my  warm,  cozy  nest  into 
the  sunlight.  Strapping  on  the  sweater,  with  its 
contents,  I  struck  across  the  field  for  the  railroad, 
and  hit  a  slow  pace  over  the  cross-ties  down  the 
track. 

S 


WANDERLUST 

Boys  are  always  hungry,  and  justly  so  when  they 
they  haven't  had  breakfast.     Sighting  a  little  cottage 
which  sat  back  only  a  few  rods  from  the  railroad, 
I  strolled  up  to  the  back  door  and  rapped.     A  lady 
opened  it  to  me,  and  when  I  told  my  tale,  she  invited 
me  into  the  kitchen,  where  I  sat  down  at  a  table, 
and  relished  a  nice  breakfast.     Goodness !  but  it  did 
taste  good.     As  I  sat  there  devouring  my  food,  she 
asked  me  many  questions  concerning  myself.     This 
put  me  in  a  serious  mood,  and  when  she  began  talk- 
ing about  home  and  those  I  had  left  behind,  a  great 
lump   formed   in   my   throat,   and   a   big  cruel   tear 
rolled  down  my  cheek.     I  did  not  wish  to  let  her 
know   she   had  touched   a  tender  cord,   so   I   said, 
''There  is  something  in  my  eye,"  at  the  same  time 
rubbmg  it  and  drying  the  tears  with  my  handker- 
chief.    She  was  a  good  woman,  and  those  soft,  ten- 
der words  would  have  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  a 
hardened  criminal,  much  less  a  very  youthful  mod- 
ern soldier  of  fortune. 

She  became  interested  in  me,  and  related  the  sad 
story  of  her  son.  Only  a  few  months  previous,  he 
had  run  away  from  home  and  had  been  killed  while 
riding  on  a  freight  train  in  Georgia.  She  pointed 
out  to  me  his  lonely  grave,  which  was  at  the  edge  of 
a  little  clump  of  pines,  just  across  the  field.  My 
heart  went  out  to  her  in  warm-felt  sympathy,  and 
bowing  my  head,  I  uncovered  and  went  out  into  the 
lonely  world,  thinking  of  that  poor  heart-stricken 
mother. 

About  noon  I  walked  into  a  typical  swamp  town, 
the  one  room  station  being  the  principal  building, 
and  drew  myself  up  on  a  pile  of  cross  ties,  just 

9 


WANDERLUST 

across  the  track.  There  I  sat  in  deep  meditation. 
Two  or  three  little  children  who  were  playing  in  the 
station  yard  came  over  and  stood  looking  and  jeer- 
ing at  me.  They  ran,  however,  when  I  muttered 
several  mild  threats,  and  made  as  though  I  was  go- 
ing to  pursue  them.  It  was  not  long  before  I  heard 
the  whistle  of  a  locomotive  in  the  still   distance. 

Presently,  the  big  engine,  with  its  train  of  pas- 
senger cars,  pulled  into  the  station  and  drew  up  at 
the  water  tank.  When  it  stopped,  I  descended  from 
my  perch  and  walked  down  the  track.  I  was  afraid 
to  board  the  blind  baggage,  the  space  between  the 
mail  coach  and  the  coal  car,  for  a  number  of  the 
train  crew  were  standing  around.  When  the  tank 
had  been  filled  and  the  engine  began  to  draw  away, 
my  heart  sank  within  me,  for  I  thought  I  had  lost 
an  opportunity  to  ride. 

As  the  big  engine  pufifed  by,  the  engineer  saw  me, 
a  poor  little  kid  away  out  in  the  wilderness,  standing 
by  the  track,  and  he  motioned  me  to  jump  aboard.  I 
ran,  caught  the  rod  on  the  side  of  the  mail  coach, 
and  swung  myself  into  a  seat  on  the  platform,  right 
behind  the  coal  car. 

It  was  one  hundred  miles  to  Sanford,  so  the  mile 
posts  read,  and  I  was  determined  to  stay  aboard.  I 
unbuckled  the  sweater  from  my  shoulder  and  threw 
it  up  on  the  coal.  Around  my  neck  I  wore  a  big 
blue  kerchief  and  on  approaching  a  station,  I  would 
turn  my  black  felt  hat  up  in  the  front,  perch  myself 
on  the  coal  car  in  full  view,  there  escaping  the  obser- 
vation of  any  one,  for  officers  at  every  station  would 
pass  me  by  believing  me  to  be  one  of  the  train  crew. 

About  five  o'clock  that  afternoon,  the  big  locomo- 

lO 


WANDERLUST 

live  drew  us  safely  into  Sanford.  Before  pulling 
fairly  into  the  station  I  yelled  good-by  to  the  engi- 
neer and  swung  lightly  to  the  ground.  He  looked 
back  and  I  waved  again. 

Realizing  that  town  folks  are  not  wont  to  help 
one  in  search  of  food  and  shelter,  I  began  my  march 
towards  the  outskirts  and  into  the  country.  At 
a  farmhouse  about  two  miles  out,  just  as  dusk  was 
clothing  the  world  in  darkness,  I  secured  shelter  for 
the  night.  I  told  the  man  of  the  place  I  was  in 
search  of  work,  so  he  took  me  in,  with  the  provision 
that  I  should  do  a  few  odd  jobs  the  next  morning. 
With  a  hot  steaming  supper  under  my  belt,  I  sought 
my  bed  and  was  soon  wrapped  in  slumber. 

I  did  about  two  hours'  work  the  next  morning  and 
then  walked  back  to  Sanford,  where  I  secured  a 
place  as  help  boy  on  one  of  the  fishing  boats.  We 
stayed  out  on  the  first  trip  three  days,  and  I  was 
so  desperately  sea-sick  all  the  time  I  was  of  little  help 
to  them.  The  master  of  the  boat  was  a  good  old 
fellow  and  he  paid  me  for  my  three  days  just  the 
same,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  half  a  dollar  a  day. 
With  this  fortune  in  my  jeans,  I  felt  very  prosperous, 
and  strolled  down  the  main  street,  where  I  bought 
half  a  pound  of  mixed  candies  for  five  cents.  As 
I  walked  casually  along  the  main  street  chewing  the 
sweets,  a  pair  of  tan  shoes  for  one  dollar  and  twenty- 
five  cents  caught  my  eye.  These  I  purchased  and 
went  triumphantly  squeaking  out  into  the  street. 

It  was  difficult  to  catch  a  freight  or  passenger  train 
out  of  Sanford  as  all  trains  were  closely  watched,  so 
I  decided  to  foot  it  to  the  first  station  where  south- 
bound trains  stopped  for  signals  and  orders.    This  I 

II 


WANDERLUST 

understood  was  about  ten  miles.  I  struck  up  a  lively 
pace  down  the  track,  through  the  work  yards,  out  of 
the  city  limits  and  into  the  open  country. 

The  big  heavy  tan  shoes  I  had  recently  purchased 
felt  comfortable  and  evidently  were  made  for  walk- 
ing cross-ties,  for  the  cinders  in  the  track  could  not 
cut  through  the  heavy  soles.  I  made  good  time  on 
this  piece  of  road-bed,  for  the  ties  were  just  about 
the  right  distance  apart  to  fit  my  steps.  Along  the 
railroad  there  were  numberless  orange  groves  with 
loads  of  large  luscious  oranges,  and  occasionally  I 
refreshed  myself.  Finally,  I  came  to  a  big  orange 
grove.  A  number  of  the  limbs  were  hanging  so  near 
the  track,  one  passing  on  a  train  could  almost  have 
plucked  an  orange  from  the  coach  window. 

I  filled  my  pockets  with  fruit,  and  noticing  a  little 
pond  a  few  steps  from  the  track,  I  went  over  and 
sat  down  by  its  border,  on  a  springboard,  one  end  of 
which  was  made  fast  to  the  bank.  There  I  sat  and 
ate  oranges  to  my  heart's  content,  and  never  did 
•stolen  fruit  taste  sweeter.  The  sun  was  now  almost 
perpendicular,  and  its  golden  rays  beating  profusely 
down  on  my  top  knot,  put  me  in  the  notion  of  taking 
a  swim. 

Taking  ofT  my  clothes,  I  plunged  from  the  end  of 
the  spring-board  and  paddled  around  in  the  lucid  and 
refreshing  water.  The  bottom  of  the  lake  was  sandy 
and  cool,  and  it  felt  awfully  good  to  my  feet,  espe- 
cially after  a  walk  over  cross-ties  in  those  new  tan 
shoes.  I  paddled  around  the  water  enjoying  every 
moment  to  myself  till  I  saw  several  little  alligators 
around  me,  then  I  made  a  bee-line  for  the  land.  Just 
as  I  was  nearing  the  bank  a  big  ugly  looking  alligator 

12 


^^-^m 


"Gee   \\m/;    He  was  bij^:    Fimuo^h    to   Swalk'w  me   Whole.' 
C  Wfinrfrrlust ) 


WANDERLUST 

bobbed  his  head  up  out  of  the  water  directly  in  front 
of  me  cutting  off  escape.  For  a  moment  I  was  so 
stunned  with  fear  I  could  not  move.  There  was  that 
big  ugly  mouth  with  its  even  row  of  sharp  white 
teeth.  Gee  whiz!  he  was  big  enough  to  swallow  me 
whole,  but  he  was  not  going  to  get  a  chance  if  I 
could  help  myself.  Realizing  my  danger,  I  stood 
perfectly  still  and  didn't  move  a  muscle.  I  couldn't. 
My  heart  seemed  to  stop  beating.  Without  my 
mind's  command  my  body  plunged  forward,  and  be- 
fore I  knew  it  I  was  standing  on  the  bank,  shivering 
with  fright. 

The  alligator  wiggled  over  to  the  other  side  of 
the  bank  and  lay  in  the  sun  while  I  made  ready  to 
put  on  my  garments.  This  indeed  did  not  consume 
much  time,  for  my  costuming  was  scant.  As  I  was 
about  to  depart  from  the  field  of  my  recent  adven- 
ture, a  native  black  informed  me  that  I  was  intruding 
on  private  grounds  and  I  must  "git  out." 

Emerging  from  the  tall  tropical  bushes  which  were 
on  either  side  of  the  railroad  track,  I  saw  a  man 
standing  there,  and  I  was  not  long  in  learning  that 
he  was  the  owner  of  the  grounds  on  which  I  had 
been  intruding,  and  when  I  told  him  of  my  adventure 
with  the  alligator  in  the  pond,  he  laughed  heartily. 
In  reciting  my  story  to  him  he  interrupted  me  by 
asking  if  I  had  thought  of  Jonah  and  the  whale  when 
that  big  pet  alligator  of  his  was  staring  me  in  the 
face.    Well,  not  on  your  life ! 

I  learned  that  the  station  was  only  a  ten  minute 
walk,  and  I  made  a  bee-line  for  it.  I  soon  arrived, 
and  behind  some  box  cars  I  sat  down  to  await  the 
train,  but,   hungry  again,   I   stole  over  to  a   small 

13 


WANDERLUST 

house  nearby  and  secured  a  snack  from  the  good 
housewife.  With  the  food  wrapped  in  a  piece  of 
newspaper,  I  returned  to  my  seat  behind  the  car,  par- 
took of  my  noontime  meal,  finishing  off  with  mixed 
candies. 

The  first  train  that  came  along  was  a  local  freight. 
I  hid  myself  between  the  two  front  box-cars,  but 
before  the  train  drew  out  I  was  discovered  by  the 
conductor,  who  made  me  leave  my  perch  on  the 
couplers.  He  inquired  where  I  was  bound  for,  and 
I  promptly  told  him  I  lived  in  Orlando  and  was  try- 
ing to  make  my  way  home.  I  asked  him  to  allow  me 
to  work  my  way  and  to  this  he  consented.  The 
freight  was  soon  off  and  I  was  on  my  way  once  more. 
At  stations  I  helped  the  train  crew  to  load  and  un- 
load the  freight. 

About  five  o'clock  that  afternoon  we  reached  Or- 
lando, where  I  spent  the  night  in  an  empty  box-car. 
Kissimmee,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  was  the  next 
town  of  any  size  on  the  line  to  Tampa,  so  I  decided 
to  walk  the  entire  distance. 

Thirty  miles  when  accurately  measured  is  no  short 
walk,  and  especially  so  when  over  cross-ties  and  cin- 
ders. Well,  it  was  a  long,  long  walk,  and  before  I 
reached  Kissimmee  that  evening  I  was  both  hungry 
and  tired.  Thirty  miles !  It  seemed  like  sixty ! 
Along  the  route  I  met  several  tramps,  but  did  not 
stop  to  talk  with  them.  At  a  house  I  asked  for  food, 
but  was  refused,  the  woman  telling  me  that  half  a 
dozen  of  my  kind  had  been  there  that  very  day  with 
the  same  request.  On  insisting,  she  sicked  the  dog 
after  me,  and  I  lost  no  time  in  clearing  out.  After 
covering  about  twenty-five  miles  of  the  journey  my 

14 


.WANDERLUST 

shoes  began  to  hurt  and  blister  my  feet  so  badly  I 
had  to  take  them  off  and  finish  the  journey  in  bare 
feet.  Here  another  trouble  arose,  for  the  sharp  cin- 
ders cut  me.  This  was  slow  walking,  but  it  was  a 
great  deal  better  than  walking  in  new  shoes. 

At  dusk  I  limped  slowly  into  Kissimmee  with  the 
new  tans  swinging  idly  on  my  arm.  I  truly  felt  tired 
and  footsore.  I  was  so  hungry  I  could  scarcely  pull 
my  weary  limbs  along  the  highway.  Arriving  at  the 
station,  I  left  the  track  and  made  my  way  to  the 
main  street.  I  walked  casually  into  a  sixth  rate  res- 
taurant, and  after  some  bargaining  with  the  proprie- 
tress, an  old  maid  from  the  swamps,  I  succeeded  in 
inducing  her  to  give  me  supper  in  exchange  for  the 
shoes  I  carried  under  my  arm. 

"The  regular  price  of  a  meal  here  is  twenty-five 
cents,"  she  informed  me,  and  at  least  she  reckoned 
she  would  let  me  eat,  provided  I  would  bring  around 
the  quarter  the  next  day  and  redeem  the  shoes.  I 
handed  her  the  shoes  and  then  seated  myself  at  the 
table. 

I  ate  a  hearty  meal  of  wholesome  food,  and  before 
I  finished  I  think  the  old  maid  regretted  her  ex- 
change. When  finished,  I  strolled  over  by  the  little 
stove  in  the  dining  room  and  sat  down.  An  old  fel- 
low sat  just  opposite  me,  and  I  was  just  about  to 
ask  him  if  he  would  know  me  in  the  future,  when 
he  broke  the  silence  by  inquiring,  "Where  are  you 
from,  sonny?" 

"Why,  I  am  from  North  Carolina,"  I  replied. 

"Well,  what  you  a  doing  away  off  from  home  down 
here  in  this  country?" 

"Just  out  for  my  health,"  I  rejoined. 

15 


[WANDERLUST 

''You  must  be  taking  a  natural  cure.  I  see  you 
ain't  wearin'  no  shoes,"  he  blurted,  laughing  heartily 
at  what  he  thought  a  great  joke. 

To  this  remark  I  made  no  answer,  and  he  again 
broke  the  silence  by  asking  several  questions;  as  to 
whether  or  not  I  smoked,  chewed,  drank  or  had  any 
bad  habits.  I  told  him  I  did  not  smoke,  drink,  chew, 
nor  stay  out  late  at  nights,  and  as  for  my  bad  habits 
that  was  for  others  to  judge.  The  old  fellow  seemed 
to  be  rather  interested,  and  before  our  conversation 
ended  he  offered  me  a  job  out  on  his  sheep  ranch, 
five  dollars  a  month  and  board. 

Considering  his  proposition  a  few  moments,  I  ac- 
cepted, calculating  that  the  experience  itself  would 
be  well  worth  my  while.  That  night  he  redeemed 
my  shoes.  The  following  afternoon  we  drove  out  to 
his  ranch,  some  fifteen  miles  from  town.  He  lived 
in  a  big  log  house  and,  all  in  all,  he  was  very  com- 
fortably fitted  up. 

My  employer,  Mr.  Heines,  conducted  a  general 
feed  and  sale  stable  in  Kissimme,  so  the  next  day  he 
returned  to  town  leaving  me  there  with  the  members 
of  his  family  to  help  around  the  house,  doing  odd 
jobs,  such  as  cutting  wood,  feeding  the  pigs  and 
cleaning  up  the  barnyard. 

Mr.  Heines  had  an  unfortunate  brother  who  was 
a  lunatic,  and  I  had  to  sleep  in  the  same  room  with 
him.  This  did  not  suit  my  fancy  very  much,  so  about 
the  fifth  day  I  told  Mrs.  Heines  I  wanted  to  leave. 
I  stayed,  however,  till  the  following  Monday  morn- 
ing and  went  back  with  Mr.  Heines,  who  had  come 
out  to  spend  Sunday  with  his  family. 

The  week  before,  "the  boss"  had  received  a  carload 

i6 


WANDERLUST 

of  Texas  mules,  and  for  the  next  few  days  after 
my  return  to  town  I  was  engaged  in  breaking  them 
under  saddle.  Before  I  left,  I  was  declared  one  of 
the  best  riders  in  town. 

During  my  stay  in  Kissimme  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  young  fellow  by  the  name  of  Ed  James,  an 
engineer  on  one  of  the  trade  boats  which  plied  over 
Lake  Kissimme,  where  its  captain  traded  with  the 
Seminole  Indians.  Ed  told  me  that  if  I  wished  he 
Avould  get  me  a  place  as  cabin  boy  on  his  boat  and 
that  I  could  make  the  next  trip  around  the  lake  with 
them.  This  offer  I  accepted  willingly,  and  a  few 
days  later  found  us  steaming  around  the  lake  heavily 
laden  with  goods  of  all  kinds  which  Captain  Hall 
traded  to  the  Seminoles  for  furs,  dried  fish,  shells, 
and  hides,  as  well  as  baskets  and  other  little  things 
made  by  the  Indians  who  inhabit  the  swamp  lands  of 
Florida. 

On  this  trip  I  served  as  cabin  boy,  and  it  was  a 
most  enjoyable  two  weeks'  outing. 

After  my  return  from  the  cruise  on  the  lake,  I 
spent  a  few  days  loitering  around  the  town,  and  then 
made  my  way  to  Tampa.  At  Tampa  I  worked  sev- 
eral weeks  on  a  fruit  boat  which  ran  between  Tampa 
and  Key  West. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  I  visited  Miami,  Talla- 
hassee and  Pensacola,  finally  arriving  back  at  Tampa 
some  weeks  later.  From  Tampa  I  journeyed 
to  Sanford  via  freight  train  de  luxe,  and  at  that  place 
I  succeeded  in  boarding  a  blind  baggage  on  a  pas- 
senger bound  for  Jacksonville.  At  Sanford  I  was 
standing  by  the  track  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  station,  when  I  saw  the  train  slowly  approaching, 

17 


WANDERLUST 

but  before  it  reached  me  it  had  increased  to  such 
speed  that  I  was  almost  afraid  I  could  not  swing 
aboard.     However,  I  determined  to  take  my  chance. 

As  the  engine  came  steaming  by  I  caught  the  han- 
dle rod  of  the  first  coach  and  swung  myself  into  a 
position  just  behind  the  coal  car,  and  there  I  rode, 
standing  upright.  The  engineer  and  fireman  both 
knew  I  was  on,  for  the  engineer  had  seen  me  as  I 
swung  into  position.  Part  of  the  time  I  rode  sitting 
up  on  the  back  of  the  coal  car,  and  part  of  the  time 
I  rode  behind  the  coal  car,  standing  up  and  holding 
myself  steady  with  the  iron  rod  which  ran  along 
behind  the  rim  of  the  car. 

We  stopped  at  a  little  station  called  Warner,  and 
as  we  drew  up  to  get  water,  I  suddenly  remembered 
that  an  old  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  White,  a  lawyer 
whom  I  had  met  at  a  summer  resort  several  seasons 
before,  lived  there.  By  the  side  of  the  track  I  saw 
a  couple  of  negroes  sitting  on  a  pile  of  cross-ties,  and 
of  them  I  inquired  about  my  friend.  They  told  me 
they  knew  Mr.  White  and  that  he  lived  in  a  house 
not  far  distant,  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  a  big 
residence.  Quickly  I  drew  from  my  pocket  a  letter 
which  was  addressed  to  me,  and  after  taking  the  let- 
ter out  of  the  envelope,  I  handed  the  latter  to  the 
negro  and  asked  him  to  give  it  to  my  friend,  request- 
ing him  to  tell  Mr.  White  that  I,  the  person  whose 
name  was  written  on  the  envelope,  had  passed 
through  that  afternoon.  He  promised  me  faithfully 
that  he  would,  and  I  afterwards  learned  that  he 
had. 

The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  pine  fields  and 
dusk  was  slowly  clothing  the  earth  in  its  folds  as 

i8 


WANDERLUST 

we  rode  into  Palatka.     The  train  pulled  in,  and  as 
fate  would  have  it,  the  engine  drew  up  only  a  few 
yards  beyond  the  depot.     As  we  passed  slowly  by, 
I     saw     a     policeman     on     the     platform     of     the 
station  and,  quick  as  a  flash,  I  jumped  from  where 
I  was  standing  on  the  rear  of  the  coal  car  to  the 
platform  of  the  baggage  coach,  and  crouched,  to  pre- 
vent his  seeing  me  as  the  train  passed.     I  hid  myself 
on  the  very  bottom  step  of  the  car,  opposite  where 
he  was  standing,  but  evidently  he  saw  me  jump  from 
my  perch,  or  else  he  saw  the  top  of  my  head  as  we 
passed,  for  we  had  no  sooner  come  to  a  standstill, 
when,  peeping  from  my  position,  I  saw  him  coming 
around  in  front  of  the  engine. 

I  was  determined  not  to  be  caught  after  havmg 
ridden  so  many  miles  in  safety,  so  I  left  the  steps 
quicklv,  walked  to  the  engine,  and  drawing  my  hand- 
kerchief from  my  pocket,  I  began  rubbing  vigorously 
the  brass  rods  and  pipes  on  the  side  of  the  locomo- 
tive. When  the  officer  stepped  around  the  engine 
to  where  I  was  standing,  he  looked  at  me  for  a  sec- 
ond and  then  asked  me  if  I  had  seen  a  "bum"  coming 
around  that  way.  I  told  him  that  I  had  seen  a  fellow 
jump  off  the  steps  of  the  car  only  a  second  before 
and  walk  towards  the  rear  of  the  train.  Evidently  he 
thought  me  one  of  the  crew,  the  way  I  was  working 
on  that  brass,  for  he  beat  it  towards  the  rear  of  the 
coach  in  search  of  his  man. 

Another  moment's  wait  and  we  were  again  on  our 
way.  It  was  ten  o'clock  when  we  arrived  at  Jack- 
sonville, and  before  I  left  the  coal  car,  the  dear  old 
engineer  with  whom  I  had  ridden  all  day,  called  me 

19 


WANDERLUST 

to  him  and  handed  me  a  quarter,  with  which  to  buy 
supper. 

I  walked  out  of  the  big  station  into  the  streets  and 
soon  fell  into  a  quarter  restaurant,  where  I  pur- 
chased supper  and  then  began  to  hunt  for  a  place  to 
sleep.  No  one  proved  a  good  Samaritan,  so  I  had  to 
content  myself  with  an  empty  box-car,  but  this  was 
not  as  bad  as  one  might  imagine,  for  it  was  strewn 
with  bits  of  hay,  which  I  gathered  up  in  a  pile  and 
made  for  myself  a  fairly  comfortable  bed. 

The  next  morning  while  walking  down  the  main 
street  of  Jacksonville,  wondering  where  my  next 
meal  was  coming  from,  a  gentleman  stepped  up  to 
me  and  remarked,  "Well,  you  look  as  though  you 
might  have  slept  in  a  hay  barn,  young  man." 

At  this  I  did  not  take  offence,  but  smiled,  telling 
him  that  I  really  had  slept  in  the  hay  that  night,  and 
that  I  was  now  looking  for  a  place  to  get  something 
to  eat.  As  luck  would  have  it,  he  took  me  over  to  a 
fairly  decent  restaurant  and  bought  me  a  steaming 
hot  cup  of  coffee  and  breakfast.  He  sat  there  and 
chatted  with  me  while  I  devoured  my  food,  and  when 
I  had  finished  I  thanked  him  most  heartily  for  his 
kindness  and  bade  him  good-by.  I  hung  around 
Jacksonville  several  days  living  on  ''hand  outs"  and 
sleeping  at  nights  in  the  empty  box-car. 

I  tried  to  catch  a  train  out  of  there,  but  found 
them  so  closely  watched  that  it  was  impossible,  so  I 
undertook  another  walk. 

It  was  twenty  miles  from  Jacksonville  to  Way 
Cross,  and  one  bright  morning  I  set  out  on  foot. 

By  then  the  tans  were  well  worn  and  the  walk- 
ing easy.     About  noon  time  I  met  another  of  my 

20 


WANDERLUST 

apparent  caliber  and  he  happened  to  be  eating  beside 
the  track  when  I  arrived.  He  had  a  fire  kindled  and 
was  preparing  his  meal  in  a  tin  can.  I  sat  down  and 
soon  we  were  partaking  of  hot  coffee  and  cold  bis- 
cuits. 

He  had  a  letter  in  his  pocket  which  he  had  written 
to  his  people  in  Connecticut  and  I  gave  him  postage. 
He  asked  me  where  I  was  headed  for,  and  I  told 
him  I  was  on  my  way  home,  and  when  I  got  there 
I  was  going  to  stay,  for  I  was  damn  tired  of  tramp- 
ing around. 

When  he  heard  me  through  he  said,  "Do  you  know 
what  your  folks  will  say  when  you  get  there?" 

"No.  What  will  they  say  when  I  get  there  and 
tell  them  I  have  come  home  to  die  ?" 

"Well,"  he  said,  they  will  say,  *You  lie,  boy ;  you 
have  come  home  to  eat.' " 

That  night  about  dark  I  reached  the  little  town 
of  Way  Cross.  A  few  negro  huts,  a  post  office,  a 
general  store,  and  one  fairly  decent  house,  which 
stood  just  across  the  track  from  the  depot.  At  this 
house  I  requested  food  and  the  lady  gave  me  a  splen- 
did lunch.  I  asked  the  station  master  if  I  might 
sleep  in  the  waiting  room  that  night,  and  he  told  me 
I  could.  I  was  tired  from  my  long  walk,  so  it  was 
early  in  the  evening  when  I  sought  my  sleeping  place. 
I  lay  down  on  the  bench  and  snoozed  soundly  till 
daylight  next  morning. 

Feeling  somewhat  rested,  I  arose  and  went  out 
on  the  platform.  I  walked  around  to  the  side  of  the 
station  and  there  lay,  close  up  to  the  house,  three 
men  who  were  formerly  with  a  circus  in  lower  Florida 
and  were  now  making  their  way  to  their  homes  in 

21 


.WANDERLUST 

Baltimore.  Within  a  short  time  a  freight  arrived 
and  drew  up  at  the  water  tank.  I  arranged  with 
the  engineer  to  let  me  ride  to  Uleaf  in  consideration 
of  my  helping  the  fireman. 

At  that  time  most  of  the  roads  in  Florida  used 
pine  wood  instead  of  coal,  so  I  busied  myself  in 
helping  the  fireman.  From  Uleaf  I  rode  an  empty 
box  car  over  to  Fernadina.  By  the  time  I  arrived  at 
Fernadina  I  was  getting  mighty  tired  of  tramping 
around  and  wanted  to  get  home  pretty  badly.  I  had 
three  cents  when  I  arrived  there  and  with  this  I  pur- 
chased crackers  and  walked  down  on  the  pier  where 
I  gathered  up  some  oysters  in  the  shell  and  thus  fared 
sumptuously. 

For  some  time  I  had  been  thinking  of  wiring  home 
for  money  and  that  day  I  thoroughly  made  up  my 
mind  to  do  so.  Strolling  up  the  street  I  walked  into 
the  telegraph  office  and  advised  the  young  lady  in 
charge  that  I  wanted  to  send  a  telegram,  charges 
C.  O.  D.  She  informed  me  that  a  telegram  could  not 
be  sent  without  a  deposit  for  she  did  not  know  me, 
and  that  the  telegram  might  not  be  accepted  at  the 
other  end  and  she  would  therefore  have  to  pay  for 
the  message  herself.  I  assured  her  that  the  message 
would  be  accepted,  but  could  not  convince  her. 

Half  the  day  I  spent  in  trying  to  get  work  but  at 
every  attempt,  I  was  discouraged.  That  afternoon  I 
made  twenty-five  cents  in  a  local  newspaper  office 
turning  the  big  wheel  while  the  editor  of  the  local 
Bugle  fed  the  press.  This  quarter  was  my  salvation, 
and  after  finishing  my  work  I  sallied  forth  to  the 
telegraph  office  and  planked  over  my  money.     The 

22 


WANDERLUST 

young  lady  promptly  dispatched  a  message  for  me 
which  was  worded  as  follows: 

Want  to  return  home  badly.     Please  wire  money. 

Jack. 

Night  soon  came,  and  I  sought  a  lumber  yard  down 
by  the  wharf.  I  crawled  up  in  the  lumber  pile  and 
made  my  bed  for  the  night.  I  did  not  sleep  much, 
for  I  was  thinking  of  home,  how  good  a  nice  warm 
bed  would  feel  and  how  glad  they  would  all  be  to 
see  me  after  months  of  separation. 

The  next  morning  I  received  twenty-five  dollars 
and  made  ready  to  depart  for  home.  I  inquired  of 
the  ticket  agent  what  my  fare  would  be,  and  he  told 
me  "twenty-one  dollars."  This  money  looked  too 
good  to  me  to  spend  so  foolishly,  since  traveling 
freight  was  so  easy,  I  decided  to  hold  the  coin  and 
ride  cheaper.  I  caught  a  train  out  of  there  that  morn- 
ing, and  at  ten  o'clock  that  night  I  arrived  safely  in 
Jacksonville  after  a  rough  ride  on  the  rods  of  a 
freight.  I  went  down  to  the  docks  and  found  one  of 
the  Clyde  line  steamers  loading  for  Charleston. 
While  the  negroes  were  busily  engaged  in  loading 
the  freight  I  hid  myself  in  the  bottom  and  there 
awaited  its  departure.  My  hiding  place  was  between 
some  big  boxes,  and  I  knew  I  would  not  be  discov- 
ered till  after  the  ship  had  left  port,  so,  feeling  com- 
fortably safe,  I  dropped  off  to  sleep.  When  I  awoke 
we  were  steaming  northward.  Just  as  I  crawled 
from  my  hiding  place  one  of  the  crew  saw  me  and 
let  forth  an  oath.  He  grabbed  me  by  the  nape  of 
the  neck  and  hauled  me  bodily  up  to  the  foreman 
who  was  standing  nearby.    I  did  not  attempt  to  re- 

23 


WANDERLUST 

sist  at  all,  for  he  was  a  great,  big,  ugly  devil  and  I 
was  not  going  to  take  any  chances  on  being  disfig- 
ured at  that  time.  The  mate  could  do  nothing  more 
than  set  me  to  work,  so  to  work  I  bent,  and  it  cer- 
tainly was  over  hard.  From  the  time  they  caught 
me  till  we  arrived  in  Charleston  I  worked  "like  a 
slave,  scrubbing  decks. 

Arriving  in  Charleston,  that  night  I  sought  a  lodg- 
ing house,  and  the  next  day,  after  making  a  thor- 
ough toilet  and  purchasing  a  few  clean  clothes,  I 
bought  a  ticket  for  my  home  in  the  mountains  of 
Western  Carolina.  Here  endeth  the  first  adventure, 
and  I  returned,  wiser  of  course,  and  somewhat  dis- 
appointed, truth  to  tell,  in  not  having  captured  a  ruf- 
fian. However,  I  was  glad  enough  to  have  saved 
my  skin.  How  uncomfortable  to  have  passed  the 
remainder  of  my  days  in  the  somewhat  contracted 
belly  of  the  alligator. 


24 


CHAPTER  IL 

A  FEW  years  later  I  entered  the  academic  depart- 
ment of  the  State  University,  and  I  can  say  without 
blushing  that  I  worked  faithfully  that  year  both  in 
my  studies  and  in  athletics.  When  the  summer  came 
and  the  vacation  months  set  in,  I  returned  home  and 
began  work  on  one  of  the  dailies  as  a  reporter, 
which  position  I  held  until  college  opened  the  fol- 
lowing fall. 

During  my  sophomore  year  I  succeeded  in  making 
the  Varsity  football  and  track  teams,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence I  was  pretty  much  the  man  by  the  end  of  the 
season.  The  same  year  I  was  elected  athletic  editor 
of  the  Tar  Heel,  the  college  weekly,  which  I  held 
down  fairly  well,  as  I  had  had  some  previous  train- 
ing in  the  newspaper  field. 

Spring  came,  and  in  due  time  summer  and  vaca- 
tion days  would  follow,  but  before  the  spring  had 
fairly  set  in  I  began  to  formulate  plans  for  the  sum- 
mer months.  There  are  numerous  ways  by  which  a 
young  man  may  spend  a  pleasant  summer,  but  I 
think  by  far  the  most  interesting  and  adventurous 
one  is  a  trip  across  the  Atlantic  on  a  regular  old  cat- 
tle-boat. I  decided  to  make  the  trip  across  with  two 
college  chums.  Arriving  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  two 
days  after  we  had  finished  our  examinations,  we 
were  not  long  in  completing  our  arrangements  for  a 
trip  on  the  cattle  boat.     The  cattle  exporter  agreed 

25 


W  A  N  D  E  R  L  -U  S  T 

to  give  us  each  one  pound,  English  money,  and  a  re- 
turn passage  on  one  of  the  company's  boats.  This 
being  satisfactory,  we  were  instructed  to  be  on  board 
early  the  following  morning,  as  the  ship  was 
due  to  sail  by  seven  o'clock  sharp.  The  night  pre- 
vious to  our  sailing  we  slept  very  little,  so  anxious 
were  we  for  the  morrow. 

Awaking  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
our  sailing,  we  immediately  proceeded  to  don  the 
rough  and  ready  clothes  for  this  occasion.  By  the 
time  our  dress  was  completed  we  looked  like  gradu- 
ated tramps  or  some  other  creatures  of  the  same  sort 
with  the  degree  "Hell  from  Texas."  Brownie  with 
his  blue  bandanna.  Dug  with  his  old  football  jersey 
and  corduroy  trousers,  and  I  with  my  boots  and  a 
sweater  which  had  seen  service  for  several  years. 

My  headgear  was  most  becoming,  an  old  brown 
felt  hat  from  which  all  the  brim  had  been  torn  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  part  in  front  which  served 
as  a  protection  for  the  eyes.  Each  and  every  one  of 
us  realized  that  we  were  booked  for  a  "rough  and 
ready,  lookout  for  number  one"  trip.  We  gathered 
up  suit  cases  and  made  our  way  rapidly  to  the  dock 
where  the  ship  was  lying  in  readiness.  Seven  o'clock 
found  us  safely  aboard.  After  walking  around  the 
deck  several  times  in  search  of  an  officer,  we  found 
the  second  mate,  who,  for  the  asking,  readily  per- 
mitted us  to  store  our  suit  cases  in  his  cabin.  Three 
hours  later  we  were  gliding  along  the  Virginia  coast 
bound  due  northward,  and  by  twelve  o'clock  land 
could  no  longer  be  sighted. 

Our  foreman,  that  is,  the  foreman  of  the  cattle 
squad,  Dave  Smith,  came  on  deck  in  the  forenoon 

26 


WANDERLUST 

and  informed  us  that  we  need  not  come  below  till 
four  bells  that  afternoon,  as  the  other  fellows  who 
were  experienced  cattlemen,  would  attend  to  the 
stalling  and  roping  of  the  steers,  a  tough  job  At 
noon  our  dinner  was  issued,  but  having  eaten  an 
unusually  good  breakfast  we  "really  didn't  care  for 
anything,"  especially  since  the  food  was  not  over 
appetizing.  After  having  examined  the  food,  we 
pitched  it  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  telling  the  second 
cook  that  our  dinner  was  enjoyed  immensely, — and 
so  it  was,  I  presume,  by  the  fish. 

The    Shenandoah   was    some   three   hundred   and 
sixty  feet  in  length  by  fifty  in  breadth.    She  had  two 
decks,  which  were   respectively  the  main  deck  and 
the  cattle  deck.     The  main  deck  was  used  for  vari- 
ous purposes,  the  fore  part  being  used  as  a  promen- 
ade  for  the  officers  and  passengers;  the   rear  part 
was  on  this  trip  used  as  a  sheep  deck,  while  in  the 
central  part  of  the  deck  were  the  cabins.     Directly 
underneath  the  main  deck  was  the  cattle  deck.    This 
is  divided  up  into  stalls,  and  in  every  stall  there  were 
four  cattle.     The   stalls  run  along  the  side  of  the 
ship  parallel  to  each  other,  and  the  intervening  space 
is  termed  the  alley  way.     This  main  alley  was  di- 
vided by  more  cattle  stalls  in  the  hatchways,  conse- 
qnently   making  two   alley   ways.      Underneath   the 
cattle  deck  in  the  big  holes  was  stored  our  cargo, 
which  was  principally  hay  and  corn.     This  being  a 
slow  steamer,  she  made  about  twelve  knots  an  hour, 
but  during  rous^h  weather  her  speed  was  diminished 
by  something  like  five  knots. 

That  afternoon  all  the  cattlemen  were  ordered  up 
to  the  steward's  room,  where  we  were  each  issued  a 

27 


WANDERLUST 

blanket,  tin  cup,  plate,  knife,  fork  and  spoon.  This 
completed  our  kit.  As  for  food,  we  were  each  issued 
two  pounds  of  brown  sugar  and  two  pounds  of  mar- 
gerine;  this  was  supposed  to  last  one  week.  When 
eight  bells  sounded  we  three  went  below  and 
there  were  put  to  work  feeding  cattle.  First 
we  rolled  the  bales  of  hay  down  the  alleyway 
from  one  hatchway  to  another;  then,  after  having 
cut  the  wires  on  the  bales,  we  would  shake  it  apart 
and  scatter  the  hay  along  the  edges  of  the  stalls  in 
the  alley  way.  When  the  cattle  had  eaten  about  half 
of  the  hay  we  then  began  to  "fork  in,"  that  is,  to 
fork  the  hay  out  of  the  alley  way  into  the  troughs, 
and  after  this  was  properly  done  we  swept  clean  the 
alleys.  It  was  fearfully  hot  and  stifling  down  there 
with  the  cattle ;  even  with  nothing  on  our  bodies 
except  armless  gymnasium  jackets,  it  was  beastly 
warm.  It  was  not  a  great  while  before  the  ship 
began  to  roll  and  rock,  and  we  soon  began  to  feel 
a  little  touch  of  seasickness,  which  was  brought 
on  so  early  by  the  heat  and  dust  in  which  we  were 
compelled  to  work.  Before  the  setting  of  the  sun 
I  was  leaning  over  the  rail  of  the  ship,  deathly  sick, 
and  humming  in  my  mind  the  tune  of  "Home,  Sweet 
Home." 

All  the  cattlemen  are  supposed  to  sleep  in  the 
forecastle,  situated  in  the  rear  end  of  the  ship,  on 
the  cattle  deck,  just  over,  or,  rather,  to  the  left  of 
the  stern.  This  was  a  dark,  damp,  forbidding  little 
room,  with  only  a  few  small  portholes  to  admit  the 
light.  It  was  fitted  up  with  wooden  bunks  on  either 
side,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  room  stood  a  greasy 
wooden  table  on  which  the  cattlemen  ate.     Besides 

28 


AV  A  N  D  E  R  L  U  S  T 

being  dark,  damp  and  ding)',  it  was  in  the  very  part 
of  tlie  ship  where  the  rolHng  was  most  perceptible, 
and  if  we  had  attempted  to  sleep  there,  we  would, 
most  assuredly,  have  had  to  tie  ourselves  in  for  fear 
of  being  rolled  out  of  the  bunks. 

There  were  seven  other  cattlemen  on  the  boat,  and 
they  did  not  seem  to  mind  at  all  where  they  bunked 
or  ate.  We  had  investigated  the  forecastle  that 
afternoon  and  found  that  we  could  not  endure  it. 
So,  when  darkness  came  and  we  had  completed  our 
day's  labor,  we  quietly  rolled  up  in  our  blankets  with 
the  ship's  main  deck  for  a  mattress  and  our  coats 
for  pillows.  It  was  not  the  least  trouble  for  us  to 
sleep,  for  we  had  slept  none  the  night  before,  and, 
besides,  we  were  weary  from  toil  and  sick  from  the 
sea. 

The  following  morning  at  a  quarter  to  six  I  was 
aroused  from  my  peaceful  slumber  by  Mike,  a  great 
big,  strapping  young  Irishman,  who  was  beating  on 
my  boot  soles  with  a  wooden  paddle  and  bidding  us 
"Git  up,"  as  it  was  time  to  begin  watering  the  caUle. 
I  was  no  sooner  on  my  feet  when  I  knew  that  my 
seasickness  was  still  with  me,  nor  did  I  recover  from 
it  for  several  days  to  come. 

We  usually  finished  watering  the  cattle  about 
seven  o'clock.  The  job  of  watering  is  the  hardest 
and  most  tedious  of  all.  Every  head  of  stock  has 
to  be  watered  from  a  bucket,  placed  in  the  trough. 

Each  bullock  will  drink  on  an  average  three  or 
four  buckets  of  water  every  morning,  so  carrying 
from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  buckets  of  water 
from  a  spot  some  thirty  or  forty  feet  away  is  no 
snap.     Brownie  always  fed  the  hay  while  Dug  and 

2Q 


WANDERLUST 

I  did  the  watering.  In  watering  one  often  loses  one's 
temper,  for  the  cattle  will  sometimes  upset  the  water 
and,  in  consequence,  drench  the  tender;  and  when 
the  water  is  being  placed  in  the  trough  they  will 
very  often  butt  over  the  bucket.  After  w^atering, 
we  were  always  wringing  wet,  and  would  have  to 
wait  for  hours  before  we  could  get  a  chance  to  lie 
in  the  sun  and  dry  our  drenched  clothes. 

When  the  watering  was  finished,  the  next  thing 
was  to  get  up,  out  of  the  ship,  forty-eight  bales  of 
hay  and  fifty  bags  of  shelled  corn. 

Generally  Dug  and  I  stood  below  and  lifted  the 
hay  up  to  the  cattle  deck,  while  the  other  fellows 
rolled  the  bales  along  the  alley  to  the  hatchways, 
where  they  were  to  be  used.  We  had  about  the 
hardest  job  of  all,  for  lifting  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pound  bales  of  hay  is  not  an  easy  job 
by  any  means. 

At  eight  o'clock  breakfast  was  issued,  which  al- 
ways consisted  of  a  stale  loaf  of  bread  for  each 
man,  a  piece  of  salted  horse  meat,  and  a  bitter  drink 
substituting  tea  or  coffee. 

We  three  fellows  always  ate  on  deck,  or  on  a  box 
in  the  alleyway  when  the  weather  was  raw.  For 
breakfast  we  were  allowed  half  an  hour,  and  as 
soon  as  that  time  was  up  we  were  set  to  work  sweep- 
ing the  alleyways  and  cleaning  out  the  troughs. 

For  the  noon  meal  we  had  only  one  dish,  which 
was  "scouse,"  a  mixture  of  meat  and  potatoes,  thor- 
oughly boiled  in  water.  This  dish  is  a  favorite  one 
with  seamen,  but  I  never  cultivated  a  taste  for  it. 
We  were  allowed  a  rest  of  three  hours  after  the 
noon   meal,   and   that   particular   time   was   looked 

30 


WANDERLUST 

forward  to  with  pleasure,  for,  not  being  used  to 
hard  labor  with  such  a  small  and  unappetizing 
amount  of  food,  a  nap  in  the  sun  was,  as  might  be 
expected,  much  appreciated  and  thoroughly  enjoyed. 
At  three  o'clock  we  began  salting  the  cattle,  and 
oh!  how  I  used  to  hate  that,  for  I  knew  the  salt 
would  make  the  cattle  drink  more  water  the  morn- 
ing following.  After  salting,  we  fed  hay,  forked  in, 
and  then  swept  out  the  alleyways.  By  the  time  we 
had  this  finished  it  was  nearing  the  supper  hour,  and 
this  meal  was  just  as  bad  as  the  rest,  everlasting 
bread  and  coffee. 

INIore  hay  was  forked  in  after  supper,  and  we 
usually  completed  our  day's  work  about  seven 
o'clock,  making  in  all  about  ten  hours  slavish  work. 
When  this  was  finished  we  never  spent  any  time 
loafing,  but  retired  to  our  quarters,  ready  to  sleep. 

For  three  days  I  remained  deathly  sick,  taking 
neither  food  nor  water,  and  yet  I  held  up  through 
it  all,  doing  my  share  of  the  work. 

On  the  fourth  day  out  I  felt  better,  and  ate  a 
little,  which  strengthened  me  considerably.  At  one 
time 'during  my  fast  I  w^as  actually  so  feeble  that  I 
almost  weakened  under  the  small  bags  of  corn.  Mike 
and  his  little  clay  pipe  filled  with  "Sensation  Tobac- 
co," used  to  keep  everybody  on  the  ship  in  bad  hu- 
mor, for  the  odor  of  that  pipe  was  enough  to  sicken 
any  one.  When  I  regained  my  appetite,  I  ate^every- 
thing-  in  sight.     I  did  finally  come  to  "scouse." 

Well,  crossing  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  the 
weather  became  intensely  cold,  and  had  we  not  dis- 
covered the  "donkey  room,"  I  hardly  know  what  we 
would  have  done.    The  "donkey  room,"  a  little  place 

31 


WANDERLUST 

situated  directly  over  the  engines  from  which  all  the 
good  warm  air  comes.  This  hovel  was  about  half 
filled  with  coal,  and  every  spare  moment  we  spent 
in  this  room  drying  our  clothes  and  warming  our 
shivering  bodies.  We  were  no  sooner  dry  when 
the  spray  would  again  drench  us  to  the  skin,  and  only 
one  night  during  the  entire  trip  did  we  sleep  in  dry 
clothes;  luckily  we  were  not  subject  to  colds. 

The  fourth  day  out  the  weather  began  to  change 
for  the  worse,  and  on  the  fifth  day  we  witnessed  a 
most  fearful  storm  in  which  Branner  and  I  came 
near  losing  our  lives;  had  it  not  been  for  the  life- 
lines  we  would  have  been  lost. 

We  were  working  on  the  main  deck  with  some 
sheep.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  terrific  gale,  and 
the  waves  were  angrily  dashing  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  above  the  deck  of  the  ship.  It  was  pour- 
ing rain  and  lightning  was  playing  fantastically  on 
the  black,  treacherous  looking  clouds  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  ship  was  pitching  in  every  direction,  and 
we  could  only  keep  our  positions  by  holding  tightly  to 
the  life  lines  which  were  stretched  across  the  deck. 
We  had  been  working  there  about  half  an  hour  when 
the  ship  gave  a  tremendous  lurch,  followed  by  a  most 
savage  plunge  into  the  water;  a  huge  wave  swept 
the  deck,  carrying  off  fifty-two  sheep,  pens  and  all, 
right  out  from  under  our  feet,  while  we  held  fran- 
tically to  the  line. 

The  sheep  and  pens  were  carried  over  with  such 
force  that  the  iron  railings  which  surround  the  deck 
were  mashed  and  torn  to  pieces ;  part  of  it  being  car- 
ried into  the  sea  with  the  sheep  and  the  pens.    The 

32 


WANDERLUST 

weather  became  so  very  bad  that  we  were  compelled 
to  change  our  sleeping  quarters. 

Nights  thereafter  we  lowered  ourselves  through 
one  of  the  hatches  to  the  bottom  of  the  ship  by 
means  of  a  rope,  and  there  on  the  bales  of  hay  we 
made  our  beds. 

We  slept  in  the  bottom  of  the  ship  for  eight  nights. 
Every  morning  at  a  quarter  of  four  the  night  watch- 
man would  open  up  the  hatch  and  yell  in  a  deep 
voice,  "Hello,  down  there,  quarter  of  four,  time  to 
water,"  and  we  would  invariably  reply  with  the  ques- 
tion, "How  is  the  weather  to-day?" 

The  answer  would  usually  be,  "Bad,  the  sky's  still 
foaming." 

The  bad  weather  continued  for  five  days,  raining 
all  the  time,  the  ship  tossing  from  side  to  side.  Af- 
ter we  had  fully  cleared  the  banks  the  weather  began 
to  get  better  and  three  days  before  we  landed  it  was 
again  calm.  During  clear  weather,  on  afternoons 
when  work  was  finished  we  used  to  go  up  on  deck, 
strip,  and  then  turn  the  hose  on  one  another.  It  was 
a  trifle  cold  but  after  we  had  given  ourselves  a  fric- 
tion bath  with  a  rough  towel,  we  felt  like  new  beings 
and  were  ready  for  our  beds  of  hay  and  a  good 
night's  rest,  to  be  followed  by  another  day's  labor. 

Often  we  would  amuse  ourselves  on  deck  by  a 
wrestle  or  a  round  or  two  with  some  of  the  sailors, 
who  thought  themselves  the  best  men  on  the  ship. 
Three  rounds  in  the  ring  with  a  husky  sailor  is  posi- 
tively guaranteed  to  remedy  any  case  of  indigestion. 

There  were  some  great  characters  on  our  boat  be- 
sides Mike  Johnson,  the  big  Irish  foreman.  There 
was    old    man    Dunn,    "the    locator."    I    believe 

33 


WANDERLUST 

he  sometimes  went  by  the  name  of  Colonel  Dunn, 
but  he  was  generally  known  among  the  cow-punch- 
ers as  the  "Locator,"  for  at  every  available  opportun- 
ity he  applied  the  word  "Locate,"  generally  humor- 
ously inappropriate. 

•  Colonel  Dunn  was  a  man  of  sixty-seven  years, 
born  in  Scotland,  near  Edinburgh.  At  the  age  of 
ten  he  ran  away  and  joined  a  ship  bound  for  Aus- 
tralia. On  his  arrival  there  he  spent  several 
months  on  a  ranch  some  hundred  miles  in  the  bush. 
Soon  tiring  of  this,  he  embarked  for  England  where 
he  enlisted  in  the  English  cavalry.  He  subsequently 
served  in  the  French  cavalry  for  three  years  and  in 
Uncle  Sam's  cavalry  for  six  years.  He  was  in  the 
West  with  General  Custer,  but  just  a  few  days  be- 
fore Custer  made  his  last  stand  Dunn  v/as  taken  ill, 
consequently  not  participating  in  that  historic  fight. 
He  had  crossed  the  Atlantic  over  twenty  times  and 
had  been  around  the  world  more  than  once;  besides 
he  had  traveled  in  almost  every  land  of  the  world. 

The  winter  before  I  met  him,  he  had  spent  on  a 
ranch  in  the  range  country  of  Montana,  and  the 
spring  he  passed  trapping  fur  bearing  animals  in 
the  wildest  parts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Even  in 
his  old  age  he  could,  it  was  said,  handle  a  rifle  and 
pistol  to, perfection  and  could  sit  a  bronco  as  long  as 
the  next  man.  Such  was  the  Honorable  Colonel 
Dunn. 

The  three  cattlemen  were  "Yorky  Kid,"  "Cock- 
ney," and  "Willie  off  the  Yacht."  "Yorky  Kid"  was 
a  young  fellow  of  twenty,  born  in  New  York  and 
who  took  to  beating  trains  at  the  early  age  of  twelve. 
Before  he  was  sixteen  he  had  traveled  in  every  state 

34 


WANDERLUST 

and  territory  of  the  Union;  and  while  with  us  he 
was  making  his  fousth  voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 
He  was  a  fairly  decent  looking  chap,  big  hearted  and 

generous.  ,     ,        i 

^'The  Cockney"  was,  without  a  doubt,  the  most 
broken  down  piece  of  humanity  I  have  ever  seen. 
Born  in  England,  he  emigrated  to  the  States  m  the 
early  seventies,  since  then  he  had  been  m  Baltimore, 
becrging,  and,  I  presume,  stealing  whatever  came  in 
his  way.  He  was  a  bony,  puny,  yellow  complexioned 
fellow,  with  black  piercing  eyes  and  dark  hair  He 
was  an  inveterate  cigarette  smoker,  besides  being 
death  on  any  kind  of  intoxicating  drinks,  from  the 
raw  alcohol  down. 

"Willie  off  the  Yacht"  was  a  character  worthy  of 
study  I  knew  by  his  speech  and  manners  that  he 
was  not  an  ordinary  individual.  By  close  question- 
ing I  found  out  something  of  his  past,  though  he  was 
extremely  shy  about  referring  to  anything  concern- 
ing the  bvgone  days.  Born  in  a  little  inland  town  of 
Maryland,  the  son  of  a  poor  man,  he  prepared  for 
college  by  push  and  perseverance. 

Believing  that  New  York  offered  many  opportuni- 
ties for  a  lawyer,  he  decided  to  practice  there.  With- 
in ten  years  he  had  a  law  practice  which  brought 
him  annually  a  comfortable  income.  Seven  years  la- 
ter he  drew  from  his  bank  a  sum  which  represented 
the  savings  of  years,  and  with  this  he  began  to  play 
the  wheel  of  chance.  As  fate  would  have  it,  he  lost. 
Disappointed  and  heart  sick,  he  drifted  to  the  bad, 
and  from  bad  to  worse  until  he  became  nothing  but 
a  mere  hobo  with  an  alcoholic  brain  and  parched 
lungs. 

35 


WANDERLUST 

On  the  thirteenth  day  out  we  sighted  land  on  the 
Irish  coast,  and  I  can  truthfully  say  it  looked  gnod 
to  me  and  was  a  welcome  sight  to  all  aboard.  As 
we  traveled  onward  we  could  see  the  land  more 
plainly  until  at  last  we  were  able  to  sight  distinctly 
three  mountains,  in  bold  outline  against  the  sky,  the 
Calf,  the  Cow,  and  the  Bull. 

We  steamed  along  the  Irish  coast  for  several  hun- 
dred miles  and  old  castles  dotted  along  the  hilltops 
and  sides  overlooking  the  sea  were  refreshing  sights. 
In  the  afternoon,  about  five  o'clock,  we  unloaded  our 
cattle  three  miles  from  Liverpool  and  by  eleven  we 
were  docked. 

In  Europe !  Goodness,  it  seemed  like  a  dream  to 
think  that  what  we  had  always  longed  for  had  be- 
come a  reality.  At  Liverpool  we  rested  a  few 
days,  and  *'stall  fed"  till  we  were  in  trim;  then  we 
put  out  to  see  what  there  was  to  be  seen  on  the  other 
side  of  the  pond. 

It  would  be  useless  for  me  to  attempt  to  describe 
everything  of  interest  we  saw  for  the  sights  have 
been  described  half  a  hundred  times  over  by  others. 
At  any  rate,  there  was  very  little  we  missed,  for  we 
were  all  very  energetic,  and  if  there  was  anything 
to  see  we  certainly  were  not  going  to  miss  it. 

In  short,  we  spent  some  months  in  Europe,  prowl- 
ing around  in  England,  Wales,  Ireland,  Scotland, 
Germany  Russia,  Austria,  Italy,  Switzerland, 
France,  Belgium  and  Holland.  We  had  the  grand- 
est time  of  our  fair  young  lives,  and  after  the  tramp 
we  were  ready  to  return  to  our  native  land. 

A  few  months  later  found  me  back  in  the  States, 
penniless  from  my  sojourn  in  Europe,  eager  to  get 

36 


WANDERLUST 

home  in  contemplation  of  a  hurried  preparation  for 
the  University.  The  return  trip  was  not  so  disagree- 
able in  that  there  were  no  cattle  to  care  for  and  an 
occasional  bask  in  the  sun  on  deck,  with  an  abund- 
ance of  literature  in  my  bunk,  the  time  was  whiled 
away  very  pleasantly.  The  day  after  arriving  in 
Newport  News  found  me  in  Norfolk. 

I  waited  till  night  for  the  purpose  of  swinging 
the  nine  o'clock  blind  baggage.  I  loitered  around  the 
station  in  the  afternoon,  in  the  mean  time  finding 
out  all  I  possibly  could  concerning  the  different 
trains^  that  leave  Norfolk.  Along  about  half  after 
eight  it  began  to  rain  and  by  nine  o'clock  it  was  pour- 
ing. I  was  sitting  on  the  inside  of  the  station  when 
the  "train  yeller"  announced  the  departing  train. 

The  rain  was  coming  down  in  torrents,  and  the 
night  was  a  fearfully  dark  one,  so  I  had  no  trouble 
whatever  in  getting  on  the  blind  baggage  without 
being  observed. 

I  crawled  up  on  the  platform  and  lay  flat,  keeping 
as  close  to  the  baggage  door  as  I  could  for  the  rain 
had  already  drenched  me  to  the  skin  evf n  in  the  few 
moments  I  had  lain  there  waiting  for  the  train  to 
pull  out. 

We  were  soon  off  and  I  lay  on  the  platform, 
drenched  to  the  skin.  It  was  rather  late,  and  then, 
too,  on  account  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather! 
there  were  only  a  few  people  around  the  country 
stations  so  I  felt  secure  in  my  position. 

About  an  hour  after  we  had  departed  from  Ports- 
mouth we  steamed  into  the  little  town  of  Wilson, 
and  there  I  would  have  been  caught  had  I  not  been 
just  a  bit  faster  than  that  rural  constable. 

37 


W  A  N  D  E  R  L"  U  S  T 

It  had  not  rained  at  Wilson  and  there  were  a 

great  many  people  gathered  at  the  station.  As  the 
train  pulled  up  to  the  station  people  were  walking 
on  either  side  of  the  track,  up  and  down,  and  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  me  to  escape  observance  as  the 
lamps  from  the  station  were  shining  brightly,  thus 
bringing  me  in  full  view  of  the  people  loitering 
thereabouts. 

The  train  had  hardly  arrived  when  a  young  fellow 
and  his  girl  came  walking  along  and  on  seeing  me  he 
remarked,  "Oh,  look  at  the  tramp.**  I  could  have 
pounded  him,  but  under  the  circumstances  I  thought 
it  best  for  me  to  keep  quiet  and  say  nothing.  This 
I  did,  but  before  I  knew  what  had  happened  a  police- 
man came  up  by  the  side  of  the  train  and  made  an 
attempt  to  nab  me.  I  was  too  fast  for  the  old  boy  ; 
just  as  he  was  aiming  to  lay  hands  on  me,  I  scram- 
bled for  the  other  side  and  jumped  from  the  plat- 
form. I  made  a  bee  line  down  the  dark  track  and 
plunged  off  into  the  bushes.  He  pursued,  but  all 
in  vain  for  I  was  a  little  too  fleet  of  foot  for  him. 
I  lay  there  in  the  bushes  for  only  a  few  minutes,  and 
v/hen  the  train  came  by  I  swung  the  blind  baggage 
and  was  again  on  my  way.  This  time  the  engineer 
saw  me  swing  aboard  and  at  the  next  station  I  was 
ejected  from  my  position  by  the  flagman.  The  train 
was  so  closely  watched  I  found  it  quite  impossible 
to  gain  my  seat  again.  I  was  put  off,  away  out  in 
the  lonely  woods  and  everything  around  was  as  dark 
as  pitch.  The  only  thing  looming  up  in  the  darkness 
was  a  little  station  building  which  sat  by  the  side  of 
the  track. 

After  feeling  my  way  around  in  the  darkness  for 

38 


WANDERLUST 

some  time  I  finally  found  a  flat  car  loaded  with 
big  sewer  pipes,  and  into  one  of  these  I  crawled, 
where  I  remained  for  the  night.  Shortly  after  I 
had  taken  up  my  abode  in  this  peculiar  sleeping  quar- 
ter it  began  to  rain  furiously,  but  I  was  protected 
from  the  terrific  downpour,  happier  in  my  tunnel 
than  Jonah  in  his  whale.  I  did  not  sleep  much  for 
my  clothes  had  been  drenched  in  the  early  part  of 
the  evening,  and  I  was  shivering  from  cold  through- 
out the  night. 

It  was  a  broken  rest,  but  when  I  emerged  from  my 
quarters  the  following  morning,  I  must  confess  I 
did  feel  just  a  wee  bit  better. 

On  examining  the  contents  of  my  purse,  I  found 
that  I  was  the  possessor  of  exactly  forty  cents.  Near- 
by was  a  small  country  store,  and  there  I  purchased 
breakfast,  which  consisted  of  apples  and  sweet  cakes. 
This  left  me  with  the  fabulous  sum  of  thirty  cents, 
so  I  began  to  figure  out  how  I  could  manage  to  get 
home  on  that.  I  walked  into  the  station  and  pur- 
chased a  ticket  to  the  next  stop,  a  distance  of  seven 
miles.  The  express  was  due  at  ten  forty  so  I  had 
only  a  few  moments  to  wait.  When  the  train  came 
to  a  standstill  I  entered  the  coach,  took  my  seat,  and 
sat  there  awaiting  the  conductor. 

I  had  purchased  a  ticket  for  only  seven  miles,  but 
it  was  my  intention  to  stay  on  just  as  long  as  the 
conductor  did  not  notice  it,  so  presently  he  came  in, 
collected  my  ticket,  and  at  the  same  time  remarked, 
"I  believe  this  ticket  carries  you  to  Roundville."  I 
did  not  speak,  but  merely  nodded  a  reply.  The  sta- 
tion master  had  evidently  put  him  wise  to  my  game, 
so  I  saw  the  jig  was  all  up  for  me.  When  we  reached 

39 


WANDERLUST 

the  next  station,  the  conductor  looked  in  the  coach 
and  yelled,  ''All  out  for  Roundville."  I  immedi- 
ately arose  from  my  seat  and  before  the  train  had 
fairly  stopped  I  jumped  from  the  platform,  on  the 
side  opposite  the  station,  and  ran  along  the  track 
unobserved  to  the  baggage  car,  where  I  boarded  the 
blind. 

There  I  rode  for  several  miles  and  at  the  next  stop 
I  alighted. 

In  this  village  I  spent  the  day.  I  passed  the  time 
chopping  wood  for  an  old  lady,  who  gave  me  food  in 
recompense  for  my  work.  That  night  I  caught  the 
nine  o'clock  local.  Everything  went  well  until  we 
struck  a  big  grade  going  down  the  mountain  side, 
and  when  descending  at  a  rapid  speed  the  fire  box 
of  the  engine  fell  out,  and  I  was  almost  literally  cov- 
ered with  coals  from  the  engine  as  they  were  posi- 
tively sifted  on  me. 

As  soon  as  the  engineer  discovered  what  had 
taken  place  he  brought  the  big  monster  to  a  stand- 
still on  the  side  of  the  slope. 

As  fate  would  have  it,  it  had  been  raining  consid- 
erably that  night,  and  there  were  great  pools  of  wa- 
ter by  the  side  of  the  track,  so  before  the  train  came 
to  a  full  stop  I  jumped  from  my  position  and  rolled 
over  by  the  side  of  the  track  in  the  cold  water,  for 
already  my  garments  had  begun  to  burn,  and  in  two 
or  three  places  the  coals  had  eaten  through  the 
clothing  and  blistered  the  flesh,  which  was  horribly 
tormenting. 

This  drenching  in  the  w^ater  soon  put  out  the  fire 
on  my  clothes,  but  I  lay  there  to  make  certain.  Vv^hen 
the  train  halted  I  was  lying  in  the  gully  by  the  side 

40 


WANDERLUST 

of  the  last  coach,  so  near  that  I  could  plainly  hear  the 
inquiries  of  the  passengers  as  to  the  cause  of  the  de- 
lay. There  in  the  water  I  remained  some  five  min- 
utes, and  then  I  got  up  and  stole  quietly  along  the 
side  of  the  coaches  to  the  engine.  The  men  were  still 
working  on  the  fire  bin,  so,  to  avoid  discovery,  I 
concealed  myself  in  the  bushes  by  the  side  of  the 
track.  We  were  there  fully  half  an  hour,  and  during 
that  time  I  thought  I  would  surely  freeze,  for  my 
clothes  were  drenched,  and  there  was  no  possible 
means  to  dry  them. 

The  engineer  and  the  fireman  soon  adjusted  the 
bin  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  were  on  our  way. 
It  was  now  about  midnight  and  there  was  only  the 
station  master  at  each  of  the  little  stations,  so  I  was 
not  so  likely  to  be  discovered.  I  rode  on  quietly  un- 
til the  flagman  came  to  give  the  engineer  some  or- 
ders, and  he  could  not  help  seeing  me,  for  I  was 
stretched  across  the  platform,  over  which  he  had  to 
pass  on  his  w^ay  to  the  engine. 

He  saw  me  when  he  opened  the  door  of  the  bag- 
gage car.  I  raised  up  and  as  I  did  he  told  me  that  I 
would  have  to  get  off  at  the  next  stop.  I  assured 
him  that  I  would,  and  at  the  next  station,  before 
the  train  had  come  to  a  standstill,  and  before  he 
came  out  to  see  that  I  did  get  off,  I  jumped  from 
the  train  and  ran  along  by  the  side  of  the  track  in 
front  of  the  engine.  I  ran  down  the  track  for  about 
one  hundred  yards,  and  concealed  myself  in  the 
bushes. 

I  waited  only  a  moment  when  the  train  rolled  by. 
With  one  grand  plunge  I  grabbed  the  rail  of  the  bag- 
gage car  and  swung  myself  to  position.     The  bag- 

41 


WANDERLUST 

gage  clerk  was  standing  in  the  door  of  the  car  and 
he  saw  me  get  on,  so  within  a  few  moments  the  con- 
ductor came  out  and  said  that  I  would  have  to  get 
off.  He  added  that  if  I  did  not  get  off  he  would 
place  me  under  arrest  and  turn  me  over  to  authori- 
ties at  the  next  station.  I  told  him  that  I  would, 
but  before  we  reached  the  next  station  I  crawled  up 
on  the  coal  car  and  buried  myself  in  the  coal,  out  of 
'  the  view  of  anyone.  I  literally  buried  myself  in  the 
bin  and  dropped  off  to  sleep,  for  I  was  so  exhausted 
I  could  hardly  hold  open  my  eyes.  How  long  I  slept 
I  knew  not,  but  when  I  awoke  I  know  that  every- 
thing around  was  just  as  hard  black  as  could  be. 

On  awaking,  I  felt  a  horrible  sensation  of  not  be- 
ing able  to  move,  and  I  was  not  long  in  discovering 
that  I  had  been  buried  deeper  in  coal,  which  had  been 
emptied  in  on  top  of  me  from  an  elevated  shoot  at 
a  station  where  we  had  stopped  to  take  on  coal  and 
water. 

There  must  have  been  a  pretty  good  coat  of  coal 
covering  me  for  I  scrambled  and  fought  for  some 
time  before  I  was  able  to  free  myself  from  the  un- 
comfortable position. 

We  arrived  at  Danville  at  daybreak  and  as  the 
engine  pulled  into  the  yards  I  dropped  off  and 
walked  down  the  track  where  I  found  a  water  spigot 
and  there  I  bathed  face  and  hands.  Half  an  hour 
I  spent  trying  to  get  the  coal  dust  out  of  the  pores 
of  my  skin,  eyes  and  ears. 

A  river  runs  right  through  the  railroad  centre 
of  the  town,  thus  dividing  the  passenger  and  the 
freight  yards.  A  hugely  constructed  bridge  spans 
this  stream,  so  I  proceeded  to  the  freight  yards  and 

42 


'Whcri    I   Awoke    1    Knew  tliat    I'^vervlliin^  Aroiiiul   was  a 
Hard    I'.laok." 


(  W'dHflf  rliist  ) 


WANDERLUST 

there  I  was  successful  in  getting  one  of  the  local 
freight  conductors  to  allow  me  to  work  my  way  to 
Greensboro,  a  town  en  route  home.  I  was  informed 
the  train  would  not  leave  til?  nine  thirty. 

Two  hours  at  my  disposal,  I  decided  to  spend  it  as 
profitably  and  pleasantly  as  possible.  Walking  over 
to  the  bank  of  the  river,  where  there  were  tied  scores 
of  little  boats,  I  unfastened  one  and  shortly  was 
smoothly  gliding  down  the  river.  When  I  had  floated 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  I  pulled  into  the  bank 
and  hitched  my  boat,  undressed  and  took  a  cool 
plunge.  I  dried  myself  on  the  underclothes  and  then 
threw  them  to  the  currents.  Realizing  it  was  too 
much  of  a  job  to  paddle  that  boat  back  up  the 
stream,  I  left  it  tied  fast  and  hit  up  a  lively  pace  for 
the  freight  yards. 

Before  leaving  Danville,  I  placed  a  note  in  one  of 
the  neighboring  boats  advising  the  owner  of  the 
whereabouts  of  the  borrowed  one. 


43 


\ 


CHAPTER  III. 

Before  the  following  Spring  term  was  half  ended 
I  began  to  plan  my  second  trip  to  Europe. 

The  work  on  the  ship  the  second  trip  over  was 
practically  the  same,  but  I  had  a  number  of  experi- 
ences which  were  new  to  me. 

On  this  trip  there  were  in  all  thirteen  cattlemen 
on  board,  eight  college  fellows,  the  foreman  and 
four  hoboes.  There  was  'Trenchy,"  our  foreman, 
an  excitable  man  with  an  irritable  temper,  who  did 
not  know  that  men  were  not  to  be  abused,  but  in  some 
cases  be  coaxed. 

Another  member  of  the  bunch  was  "Smithy,"  a 
little  clumsily  built  fellow,  with  red  whiskers  and 
cross  eyes,  who  had  driven  eight  horses  to  one  of 
Sells  Brothers'  Circus  wagons  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  who  was  in  every  respect  a  typical  hobo. 

Then  there  was  "Rates,"  a  good  sort  of  fellov/ 
he  was,  and  at  times  I  really  felt  sorry  for  him.  He 
was  the  hardest  worker  in  the  lot  and  often  did 
twice  his  share  when  the  other  fellov/s  were  sick. 
"Rates"  had  been  a  cowboy  in  Dakota  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  enlisting  in  the  United  States  Army 
while  there,  he  went  to  the  Philippines  as  a  cavalry- 
man, where  he  remained  two  years.  With  us,  he 
was  making  his  first  trip  across.  From  London  I 
learned  he  went  to  Capetown,  South  Africa. 

The  greatest  character  on  board  was  old  Cole.   In 

44 


WANDERLUST 

all  my  life  I  have  never  seen  a  man  his  equal  in 
many  respects.  Medium  in  size  with  brawny  arms 
and  an  over-developed  muscular  neck,  he  reminded 
one  of  a  huge  beast,  muscles  superbly  developed  and 
mind  untrained.  Cole  was  some  forty  years  of  age, 
and  a  boaster  from  the  word  "Go."  At  the  early 
age  of  ten  he  ran  away  from  his  parents  in  Norway, 
and  secured  passage  on  a  sail  boat  bound  for  Odessa 
on  the  Black  Sea.  I  think  him  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting talkers,  from  a  certain  standpoint,  I  have 
ever  conversed  with.  At  times  he  would  charm  me 
for  hours  with  his  tales  of  adventure  by  sea  and 
land.  I  became  so  intensely  interested  in  this  man 
that  at  night,  when  all  had  retired  save  the  watch- 
man, I  would  sit  with  him  on  deck  for  hours  and 
hear  him  spin  his  tales  of  the  past.  Cole  had  been 
around  the  world  several  times  and  had  visited  every 
continent  on  the  globe.  In  the  heart  of  India  he 
had  served  as  a  lackey  to  a  very  rich  man ;  in  Aus- 
tralia he  herded  sheep  for  two  seasons ;  in  Japan  he 
was  hostler  for  an  American  planter;  in  South 
Africa  he  mined,  and  in  South  America,  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  he  worked  in  the  shipyards.  Thirty  years  of 
his  life  he  had  spent  in  travel.  Whiskey  and  to- 
bacco he  craved. 

Old  man  Miller  was  our  night  watchman.  He 
was  a  good  old  fellow,  who  did  his  duty  and  never 
had  much  to  say.  A  baker  in  Baltimore,  he  became 
tired  of  his  occupation,  and  feeling  need  of  a  change, 
he  had  sought  a  cattle  boat  for  recreation. 

The  ninth  day  out  a  terrible  mishap  came  near 
ending  the  life  of  one  of  our  comrades.  On  this  par- 
ticular afternoon  it  was  raining  and  the  sea  was  run- 

45 


WANDERLUST; 

ning  high.  We  were  all  seated  in  the  engine  room, 
hovering  around  the  steam  pipes,  endeavoring  to 
dry  our  clothes  and  warm  our  chilled  bodies,  when 
a  shrill  cry  was  faintly  heard  from  the  fore  part  of 
the  boat.  Thinking  that  perhaps  trouble  had  befal- 
len some  one,  we  rushed  in  the  direction  from  which 
the  cry  seemed  to  have  come.  Arriving  at  the  door 
of  the  "foc's'le,"  we  peeped  in,  and  there,  lying  on 
the  floor  prostrate  and  apparently  dead,  was  Cole, 
with  blood  streaming  from  his  mouth  and  nostrils. 
Over  him  stood  a  fearless  and  well  developed  young 
fellow,  whose  name  was  Max  Goodman,  with  fist 
clenched  and  face  badly  bruised.  When  I  saw  the 
bloody  sight  I  was  dumbfounded,  for  I  feared  that 
Cole  would  never  again  see  the  light  of  day. 

Goodman  was  considered  one  of  the  best  young 
college  pugilists  in  the  South,  and  I  realized  from 
experience  the  force  of  his  blows.  He  was  one  of 
our  star  football  players,  and  we  had  been  on  the 
'varsity  eleven  together.  Half  blinded  as  he  was 
by  passion,  I  took  him  by  the  arm,  and  led  him  to 
the  engineer's  stateroom,  where  matters  were  ex- 
plained. 

It  seems  that  Cole  had  attempted  Goodman's  life 
with  a  pitchfork.  On  finding  that  he  was  unable 
to  protect  himself  against  this  deadly  weapon,  Good- 
man retreated  to  a  corner,  where  he  secured  a  bucket, 
which  he  threw  at  Cole's  head,  causing  him  to  drop 
the  fork.  Goodman  then  seizing  his  opportunity, 
charged  on  Cole  and  hit  him  squarely  between  the 
eyes.  From  the  effects  of  the  blows,  poor  Cole  was 
confined  to  the  ship's  infirmary  with  a  broken  jaw 
and  a  badly  bruised  face. 

46 


WANDERLUST 

Seventeen  days  after  embarking  from  America  we 
steamed  into  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  and  never 
was  there  a  happier  bunch  of  American  college  boys 
together.  When  we  stepped  ashore  that  most  beau- 
tiful Sunday  afternoon  we  were  no  longer  cattlemen, 
but  young  Americans  in  Europe  to  see,  hear  and 
learn  all  we  possibly  could. 

Landing  at  Alexander  dock,  about  twenty  miles 
below  London  proper,  we  made  our  way  rapidly  to 
the  nearest  station  of  the  elevated  railway  which 
runs  parallel  with  the  Thames,  and  boarded  the 
first  train  going  to  the  Fenchurch  Street  Station. 
Engaging  two  four-wheelers,  we  were  soon  driven 
into  the  square  of  the  great  and  lavishly  furnished 
Hotel  Cecil,  where  we  registered. 

Hubert  Collins,  a  university  man  who  was  on  this 
trip,  and  I  left  London  for  Liverpool,  where  we 
went  aboard  the  steamship  "Oravia,"  which  was  to 
transport  us  to  Lisbon,  Portugal. 

W^e  glided  smoothly  out  of  the  harbor  and  on 
our  way  to  Portugal,  which  we  so  much  desired  to 
see,  and  from  which  point  we  could  easily  make  our 
way  across  the  frontier  and  into  old  historic  Spain, 
where  Don  Quixote  made  his  daring  raid  upon  the 
windmills. 

Before  we  had  been  an  hour  out  of  port  we  se- 
lected our  bunks  and  were  comfortably  seated  in  our 
new  quarters.  The  first  day  out  we  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  most  of  our  fellow  passengers,  and 
indeed  we  found  them  surprisingly  agreeable. 

Leaving  Liverpool  on  a  Thursday,  we  made  our 
first  stop  at  La  Pallice,  the  seaport  of  La  Rochelle, 
a  town  of  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.     Ar- 

47 


WANDERLUST 

riving  at  eight-thirty  in  the  morning,  we  boarded  a 
car  which  conveyed  us  to  La  Rochelle,  at  which 
place  we  spent  the  entire  day  in  sight-seeing.  We 
made  our  lunch  on  good  French  wine  and  sweet 
cakes. 

We  returned  to  our  ship  about  six  o'clock  that 
afternoon,  tired  and  footsore  from  our  day's  tramp 
over  the  city. 

That  night  our  ship  remained  in  port,  and  never 
shall  I  forget  the  Frenchman  who  mistook  me  for 
a  sailor  and  oitered  to  tip  me  with  fifty  centimes 
for  pointing  out  to  him  the  engine  room  of  the  ship. 
The  next  m.orning  we  steamed  away,  and  Monday 
we  made  our  second  stop  at  Coronna,  Spain,  where 
Sir  John  Moore  and  his  English  soldiers  were  de- 
feated by  the  Spanish  troops. 

Thursday  we  were  scheduled  to  anchor  at  the  port 
of  Lisbon.  I  sincerely  hoped  that  nothing  would  hap- 
pen to  delay  us,  for  the  novelty  of  the  trip  had  worn 
away  and  we  were  anxious  to  get  ashore  again. 

At  the  last  stop  we  took  on  board  two  hundred 
dirty,  foul-smelling  Spanish  immigrants  bound  for 
South  America,  and  they  kept  things  hot  with  their 
hand-organs  and  bagpipes.  They  never  tired  of 
dancing,  for  they  kept  it  up  from  morning  till  night. 

There  were  several  beautiful  Spanish  girls  on 
board,  and  they  danced  most  gracefully.  I  hardly 
think  any  one  can  equal  the  grace  of  a  Spanish 
dancer. 

We  arrived  in  the  picturesque  natural  harbor  of 
Lisbon  in  the  morning  and  were  soon  bidding  fare- 
well to  the  many  friends  that  we  had  made  during 
our  week's  voyage. 

48 


WANDERLUST 

In  Lisbon  we  set  about  to  find  a  suitable  hotel, 
and  this  we  were  not  long  in  doing,  for  the  Hotel 
Camoes  had  been  recommended  to  us  by  the  steward 
of  the  ''Oravia."  Here  we  found  everything  to  our 
liking. 

On  arriving  at  Lisbon  I  soon  found  a  land  far  dif- 
ferent in  customs  from  any  of  the  other  European 
countries,  for  everything  at  first  sight  appears  purely 
Oriental. 

I  have  traveled  in  many  countries  of  Europe,  but 
I  must  confess  that  none  struck  me  with  such  sim- 
plicity of  customs. 

Lisbon,  like  Rome,  is  built  upon  several  hills,  and 
on  first  sight  one  would  fancy  it  a  city  void  of  life 
and  pleasure,  but  upon  investigation  this  opinion  is 
quickly  changed.  The  population  of  Lisbon  is  some 
forty  thousand  inhabitants.  The  streets  are  well 
kept,  and  the  street  car  system  is  surprisingly  good. 
While  there,  we  saw  many  things  of  interest,  among 
them  being  the  King's  palace  and  beautifully  kept 
parks,  city  waterworks,  said  to  be  among  the  finest 
in  the  world ;  Black  Horse  Square,  the  Cave  of  the 
Dead,  magnificent  churches,  and  massively  hand- 
some government  buildings. 

There  we  witnessed  our  first  bull  fight,  on  a  Sun- 
day, and  never  shall  I  forget  how  scorchingly  hot 
I  became  while  occupying  my  one  peseta  (15  cents) 
seat.  I  later  learned  that  there  is  a  radical  distinc- 
tion between  the  Portuguese  and  the  Spanish  bull 
fights,  the  latter  being  far  more  cruel. 

By  good  fortune  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
King  and  Queen  with  their  young  son  as  they  drove 
from  the  palace. 

49 


WANDERLUST 

Two  days  we  spent  on  a  visit  to  the  town  of  Bre- 
men, which  is  but  a  short  distance  from  Lisbon. 
There  is  constructed  one  of  the  finest  of  the  world's 
cathedrals,  in  which  rests  the  remains  of  Vasco  Da 
Gama.  We  saw  also  the  point  from  which  he  set 
out  upon  his  voyage  to  discover  a  shorter  route  to 
India. 

In  Portugal  one  feels  the  spirit  of  the  South.  The 
men  are  exceedingly  small  in  stature,  their  hair  black 
and  their  eyes  quick  in  movement.  The  women,  like 
many  of  the  Oriental  people,  are  beautiful  in  girl- 
hood and  young  womanhood,  but  the  hot,  scorching 
sun  soon  dries  them  into  old  and  ugly  women.  Even 
the  women  of  the  peasant  class  are  remarkably 
beautiful,  with  their  dark,  bewitching  eyes,  long 
black  silky  hair  and  trim  figures.  The  peddling  on 
the  streets  is  done  by  women.  They  wear  large  ear- 
rings and  big  bracelets  around  ankles  and  wrists. 
Their  dress  is  of  the  simplest,  and  they  wear  neither 
shoes  nor  hats.  On  their  heads  they  carry  large  flat 
baskets,  loaded  with  their  wares,  and  on  every  street 
one  can  hear  them  crying  their  goods  and  wares  to 
the  passing  public. 

The  principal  beasts  of  burden  in  Portugal  are 
donkeys  and  oxen.  Of  course,  horses  and  mules  are 
used,  but  they  are  for  the  richer  classes.  The  wagons 
are  pulled  by  oxen,  sometimes  four  and  six  in  hand. 
One  car  line  in  Lisbon  is  operated  alone  by  mules 
and  oxen.  Those  cars  operated  by  electricity  are 
generally  patronized  by  the  better  living  class,  while 
the  cars  operated  by  mules  are  patronized  by  the 
poorer  class. 

The   shaggy   ill-kept   donkeys   present  a   comical 

50 


W  A'N  D  E  R  L  U  S  T 

sight,  with  great  big  baskets  securely  tied  on  either 
side.  The  load  often  looks  larger  than  the  don- 
key. Once  while  tramping  in  Southern  Portugal 
I  saw  a  little  donkey  about  the  size  of  a  mastiflf, 
plodding  along  with  two  cages  of  chickens  on  either 
side  and  a  woman  and  her  babe  comfortably  seated 
on  the  donkey's  back  en  route  to  market. 

One  thing  peculiarly  common  in  Portugal  and  for- 
eign to  many  other  lands  is  the  way  in  which  the 
dairies  are  conducted.  In  the  stores  along  the  main 
thoroughfares  milch  cows  are  stalled,  and  when  a 
customer  arrives  the  proprietor  simply  milks  the 
amount  called  for  fresh  from  the  cow.  By  this 
means  the  buyer  is  sure  of  the  purity  of  the  milk. 

Soon  tiring  of  Portugal  and  its  oddities,  we  se- 
cured tickets  for  Madrid,  but  before  reaching  there 
we  had  a  rare  experience. 

Leaving  Lisbon  about  9 :30  we  arrived  at  a  sta- 
tion,— Baylo, — where  we  should  have  changed  cars. 
There  the  train  remained  some  minutes  and  during 
the  wait  we  purchased  two  bottles  of  wine  and  four 
loaves  of  bread.  The  train  moved  slowly  off,  so 
being  hungry,  we  settled  comfortably  back  into  our 
seats  and  soon  fell  to. 

As  we  were  preparing  to  take  our  afternoon 
smoke,  the  conductor  came  around  to  collect  the 
tickets.  On  looking  at  ours  he  told  us  we  were  on 
the  wrong  train.  By  this  time  we  were  some  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Baylo. 

At  the  next  station  we  were  put  off  by  the  con- 
ductor, and  from  signs  and  words  obtained  from  a 
Portuguese-English  conversation  book,  we  learned 
that  we  would  have  to  remain  in  that  forsaken  spot 

51 


WANDERLUST 

till  1 1 130  that  night.  It  was  then  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  On  discovering  the  costly  mistake, 
we  both  cursed  our  ill  luck.  The  worst  of  it  was, 
we  only  had  between  us  three  hundred  rois,  thirty 
cents  in  Uncle  Sam's  coin. 

Two  days  later  found  us  in  Madrid,  tired,  dusty 
and  hungry.  We  soon  found  a  suitable  hotel  and 
made  ourselves  comfortable. 

It  would  be  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  write 
of  all  the  things  of  interest  which  we  saw  while  in 
Madrid,  the  capital  of  Spain.  The  first  day  there 
we  spent  in  resting,  but  after  that  we  were  on  the 
go  from  morning  till  night,  for  we  were  out  to  see 
all  there  was  to  be  seen. 

We  visited  the  Royal  Palace,  which  is  said  to  be 
next  in  grandeur  to  the  Czar's  Winter  Palace  at  St. 
Petersburg.  This  palace  is  superb  in  architecture 
and  is  magnificently  furnished.  The  royal  stables 
contain  hundreds  of  beautiful  horses  of  all  descrip- 
tion and  carriages  of  every  style.  The  most  inter- 
esting part  of  the  palace  is  the  Royal  Armory,  in 
which  we  saw  the  old  but  well  preserved  armor  of 
Christopher  Columbus  and  the  war  implements  and 
armor  of  Charles  V.  In  this  armory  the  weapons  of 
all  the  great  Spanish  warriors  are  preserved,  always 
carefully  guarded. 

The  Art  Gallery  of  Madrid  is  second  to  none. 
There  are  collected  the  masterpieces  of  the  v/orld's 
greatest  artists,  not  only  of  Spain,  but  of  other  coun- 
tries. 

The  arena  for  the  bullfights  is  most  handsomely 
constructed,  and  there  we  had  the  pleasure  of  wit- 
nessing our  second  bull  fight.     These  fights  are  held 

52 


WANDERLUST 

every  Sunday,  and  quite  often  on  Wednesdays.  At 
this  particular  fight  there  were  killed  three  horses 
and  several  bulls.  It  was  far  more  cruel  than  the 
fight  we  had  witnessed  at  Lisbon. 

We  made  Madrid  our  headquarters  while  in  Spain 
and  took  excursions  out  to  Toledo,  the  Escurial, 
Bungos  and  Granada.  These  places  proved  of  as 
much  interest  to  us  as  did  Madrid. 

In  Madrid  the  main  thoroughfares  are  kept  sur- 
prisingly clean,  while  the  back  streets  are  filthy. 
Several  nights  we  spent  theatre-going  and  saw  some 
of  Spain's  celebrities. 

In  the  day  time,  between  the  hours  of  eleven  and 
four,  the  streets  are  practically  deserted,  for  the  sun 
is  so  hot  that  work  is  impossible.  Later  in  the  after- 
noons the  boulevards  and  squares  are  crowded. 

The  Spaniard,  the  most  courteous  of  all  men,  is  in- 
sanely fond  of  bull  fights,  cigarettes,  coffee,  wine 
and  women.  The  drinking  taverns  are  always 
crowded  in  the  evening  with  customers,  who  sit  and 
sip  their  strong  black  coffees  and  puff  their  cigar- 
ettes, while  they  chat  of  dancers  and  matadores. 

A  thing  most  peculiar  to  Spain  is  the  large  amount 
of  counterfeit  money  which  is  in  circulation.  When- 
ever one  purchases  any  thing  and  tenders  a  coin  in 
payment,  the  shopkeeper  invariably  tests  the  purity 
of  the  coin  on  a  sounding  slate. 

From  Madrid  we  journeyed  to  San  Sebastian, 
where  we  visited  the  King's  summer  palace,  and  saw 
his  Majesty.  We  happened  here  on  a  Sunday,  and 
we  did  not  miss  the  opportunity  of  seeing  another 
bullfight. 

San  Sebastian  is  the  most  fashionable  watering- 

53 


WANDERLUST 

place  in  Spain  and  there  all  the  nobles  and  wealthy 
people  of  Portugal  and  Spain  spend  the  hot  season. 
Here  we  spent  several  days  in  preparing  for  our 
journey  on  foot  across  the  Pyrenees  Mountains.  I 
had  always  wanted  to  cross  the  Alps  or  Pyrenees  on 
foot,  so  when  the  opportunity  was  presented,  I  surely 
was  not  going  to  let  it  go  by. 

Securing  heavy  walking  shoes,  suitable  clothing, 
heavy  walking  sticks,  we  boarded  the  train  at  San 
Sebastian  and  alighted  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  where 
the  road  starts  its  winding  way  across  the  rugged 
slopes.  Our  only  arms  consisted  of  a  couple  of  dag- 
gers, which  we  purchased  at  Toledo  and  a  thirty- 
eight  Colt's  revolver. 

These  lofty  mountains  and  rugged  foothills  are  in- 
habited by  a  lawless  and  murderous  set  of  treacher- 
ous Spaniards,  who  strike  whenever  they  have  an  op- 
portunity. Not  heeding  wild  stories,  we  set  out 
upon  a  journey  calculated  to  test  to  the  utmost  the 
metal  of  your  companion  and  one's  endurance. 

The  first  day  carried  us  into  the  heart  of  the  wil- 
derness, where  on  every  side  one  could  see  nothing 
but  lofty  crags  covered  with  large  boulders  and 
shaggy  grass. 

We  employed  a  guide  for  a  day  to  conduct  us 
safely  to  the  beaten  trail,  and  four  days  later  we 
were  safely  settled  in  the  little  vilage  of  Blanto,  on 
the  frontier  of  France. 

Although  we  had  put  up  with  a  great  many  hard- 
ships, we  enjoyed  our  tramp,  and  we  only  wished 
our  journey  had  occupied  twenty  days  instead  of 
five,  for  we  felt  better  each  succeeding  day,  tramping 
over  the  rocky  pathways.     Two  nights  were  spent 

54 


'Tiic   First   Day  carried  us  into   the   Heart  of  the  Wilder- 

rrss  where  on   P2very  Side  one  could   see  Nothing 

but    Lofty    Crass." 


( Wanderlust) 


WANDERLUST 

on  the  ground  under  the  shadow  of  the  cork  trees, 
while  the  other  nights  were  spent  in  huts  along  the 
way. 

During  the  tramp  our  food  consisted,  principally, 
of  bread,  goat's  milk  and  fruit. 

One  night  while  sleeping  out  we  were  alarmed  by 
the  approach  of  some  sort  of  big  animal,  which  per- 
sisted on  making  our  acquaintance.  By  firing  the  re- 
volver several  times  we  succeeded  in  frightening  it 
away,  after  which  we  went  back  to  sleep,  only  to 
be  awakened  in  the  early  morning  by  a  Spanish  goat 
herder,  w^ho  insisted  that  we  had  killed  one  of  his 
dogs.  The  dead  animal  proved  to  be  our  visitor  of 
the  previous  night. 

At  Blanto  we  made  preparation  for  our  railway 
journey  to  Paris. 

August  found  us  in  the  gay  city  of  Paris,  where 
we  chanced  to  meet  again  two  of  our  friends  of  the 
cattle  boat,  Roy  Saunders  and  Philip  McDuff. 

We  arrived  in  Paris  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Engaging  a  four-wheeler  we  were  driven 
to  our  hotel,  which  was  situated  about  a  block  from 
the  Champs  Elysees,  the  most  beautiful  boulevard  in 
that  wonderful  city.  After  enjoying  a  good  break- 
fast we  repaired  to  our  room,  where  we  discussed 
the  situation,  and,  I  regret  to  say,  it  proved  a  serious 
one. 

We  found  that  our  friends,  McDufiF  and  Saunders, 
had  spent  all  the  money  they  had,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  francs.  Hurbert  Collins  had  about 
enough  to  carry  him  to  New  York,  and  I  had  some- 
thing like  seventy-five  francs  (fifteen  dollars).  Three 

55 


WANDERLUST 

days  later  Collins  left  Paris  for  London,  from  which 
place  he  sailed  for  New  York. 

We  three  other  fellows  remained  in  Paris,  expect- 
ing money  by  every  mail,  but  we  had  to  content 
ourselves  with  mere  expectations,  for  letters  con- 
taining the  money  never  came.  We  soon  realized 
that  our  situation  was  becoming  a  desperate  one, 
and  that  we  must  do  something,  for  our  little  supply 
of  funds  was  diminishing  daily. 

Finally  we  decided  on  advertising  in  the  Paris 
edition  of  the  New  York  Herald^  thinking  that  per- 
haps this  would  bring  us  an  opportunity  for  some 
sort  of  work.     Our  advertisement  read: 

Three  young  Americans,  university  education,  desire  po- 
sition doing  anything.    Address  X  Y  Z,  New  York  Herald. 

We  paid  for  the  insertion  of  our  advertisement  in 
three  editions  and  departed  the  office  feeling  that 
this  would  surely  bring  us  something.  Three  days 
later  we  received  a  letter,  whch  read, 

X  Y  Z,  Herald. 

Gentlemen  : 

Noticed  your  advertisement  in  the  Herald  this  morn- 
ing and  would  be  glad  to  see  you  at  my  rooms  this  even- 
ing between  hours  of  6  and  8. 

Very  truly  yours, 

K.   M.   Foe. 

In  reading  this  our  hearts  beat  with  joy,  for  we 
anticipated  great  things.  McDuff  planned  keeping 
his  position  for  six  months,  so  that  he  could  learn 
to  speak  the  French  language.  I  readily  decided  to 
do  the  same,  while  Saunders  expressed  his  desire  of 

S6 


WANDERLUST 

working  only  long  enough  to  get  money  to  pay  his 
hotel  bill  and  secure  a  ticket  to  London. 

At  the  time  appointed  we  called  at  the  gentleman's 
rooms,  which  were  in  the  Standard  Hotel,  and  he 
proved  to  us  a  notable  disappointment.  He  pro- 
posed to  teach  us  a  game  by  which  we  could  easily 
break  the  bank  at  Monte  Carlo  and  thereby  win  our 
fortunes  He  said,  of  course  we  would  have  to 
begin  with  about  a  thousand  francs.  This  gentleman 
as  he  termed  himself,  proved  such  a  disappointment 
to  us  that  we  decided  to  have  some  amusement  so 
we  praised  his  scheme  highly  and  advised  him  that 
we  would  certainly  return  the  following  evening 

Several  days  later  we  left  for  London,  and  you 
may  be  sure  we  did  not  keep  our  appointment  with 
the  would  be  prince  of  schemers. 

Paris  is  pre-eminently  the  city  of  pleasures.  In 
the  gay  summer  season  one  can  see  hundreds  of  tour- 
ists strolling  along  the  beautiful  boulevards  At 
nights  the  principal  ways  are  brilliantly  lighted,  and 
m  passing  by  one  sees  scores  of  people  in  the  fas- 
cinating cafes  enjoying  the  refreshing  night  air 
and  the  merry  music  as  they  sit  and  sip. 

The  Champs  Elysees  at  night  is  one  great  high- 
way of  pleasure.  On  either  side  are  theatres  and 
drinking  gardens,  and  from  every  direction  one  hears 
the  gay  music  of  the  orchestras. 

One  day  while  walking  through  one  of  the  many 
beautifully  kept  parks  we  met  a  party  of  five  youn^ 
American  students.  They  had  ridden  on  bicycles 
from  London  to  Paris  and  had  stopped  for  a' rest 
of  several  days,  after  which  they  intended  making 
their  way  into  Germany.     These   fellows  were  all 

57 


^WANDERLUST 

members  of  the  same  class  at  Harvard  and  were 
touring  Europe  on  their  bicycles. 

At  our  hotel  we  only  secured  breakfast  and  din- 
ner. Lunch  usually  consisted  of  cheap  French  wine 
and  a  loaf  of  bread  on  one  of  the  penny  seats  in  the 
park. 

We  kept  up  our  bluff  remarkably  well  at  the  hotel, 
and,  honestly,  the  landlady  never  even  suspected  that 
we  were  stranded.  If  she  had  known  it,  most  prob- 
ably she  would  have  demanded  pay  in  advance,  but 
we  talked  so  cleverly  of  how  we  enjoyed  the  theatre, 
how  delightful  the  drive  was,  and  such  things  that 
she  never  had  a  suspicion  of  our  financial  predica- 
ment. 

One  morning  I  came  near  getting  myself  into 
trouble  for  drenching  a  vegetable  peddler  with  wa- 
ter. It  seemed  to  me  that  he  had  been  standing  in 
the  streets  below  for  an  hour,  crying  out  his  vege- 
tables. I  wanted  to  go  to  sleep  but  couldn't  with  all 
that  racket  going  on  below,  so  I  filled  the  bowl  with 
soapy  water  and  dashed  it  all  over  him.  When  the 
water  drenched  him  he  yelled  like  an  Apache  Indian, 
and  before  long  a  policeman  came  up  to  investigate 
the  source  of  such  an  act.  Of  course  we  were  mno- 
cent !  having  just  awakened  from  a  sound  slumber. 

One  of  the  most  pleasant  surprises  of  my  stay  in 
Paris  was  while  waiting  at  the  mail  window  of 
Thomas  Cook  and  Son  for  the  long  expected  coin, 
^when  whom  should  I  see  but  my  old  comrade  Good- 
fUu^^,  'man,  vainly  endeavoring  to  gain  some  information 
from  a  chesty  policeman.  Goodman  did  not  see  me 
and  I  had  some  real  pleasure  in  watching  him  at- 
tempting  to    converse    in    French,    when   the   only 

58 


WANDERLUST 

French  he  could  muster  to  his  service  was,  "Oui, 
■Monsieur,"  and  "Parlez  vous  Frangais?"  Stepping 
up  to  him  I  laid  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said, 
"Pardon  me,  sir,  but  are  you  an  American?" 

Never  have  I  seen  one's  face  so  radiant  with  joy 
and  happiness.  We  soon  got  together  and  began  to 
arrange  and  plan  for  our  future  maintenance  and  sup- 
port, Goodman  being  in  about  the  same  condition, 
financially  as  the  rest  of  us. 

One  who  has  never  been  in  a  large  foreign  city, 
far  from  friends  and  home,  cannot  comprehend  the 
absolute  feebleness,  helplessness  and  lonesomeness, 
which  we  four  fellows  experienced  for  days. 

The  last  night  of  the  miserable  days  which  we  spent 
in  Paris  came  very  near  terminating  disastrously  for 
Goodman  and  myself.  It  was  a  night  at  one  of  the 
largest  dance  halls  in  the  Latin  Quarter,  the  most 
dangerous  portion  of  all  Paris.  Goodman  and  I 
paid  our  admission  fee,  one  franc  each,  and.  imme- 
diately began  looking  around,  hoping  that  we  might 
find  some  one  who  would  be  so  charitable  as  to  pre- 
sent us  to  some  of  the  charming  dancers. 

For  a  while  it  seemed  that  our  sole  enjoyment 
would  come  from  looking  on,  but  presently,  much  to 
our  pleasurable  surprise,  I  saw  a  young  Frenchman 
whom  we  had  met  a  few  days  previous  while  visiting 
at  the  University  of  Paris.  This  young  fellow  with 
his  delightful  manner  proved  quite  a  help,  introduc- 
ing us  to  several  captivating  belles,  who,  to  our  sur- 
prise could  two-step  and  waltz  exquisitely.  Here 
we  enjoyed  ourselves  till  the  early  morning  hours 
and  when  we  were  ready  to  depart,  much  to  our 

59 


WANDERLUST 

chagrin  and  disappointment,  we  found  that  we  were 
totally  lost,  traffic  having  long  since  ceased. 

Our  first  thought  was  to  find  a  policeman,  but  we 
found  that  officers  were  rare  in  that  particular  quar- 
ter, which  added  to  the  horror  of  the  situation.  In 
the  hazy  distance  we  caught  the  glimmer  of  lights 
which  we  instinctively  followed,  only  to  find,  too 
late,  that  they  led  in  the  very  opposite  direction  from 
which  we  desired  to  go. 

I  then  suggested  to  Goodman  that  we  had  better 
look  for  a  four-wheeler,  but  he  stubbornly  insisted 
that  we  continue  on  foot,  and  in  less  than  five  min- 
utes we  found  ourselves  beset  by  thieves  and  mur- 
derers of  that  treacherous  quarter. 

At  first  we  pretended  not  to  understand  what  this 
sudden  and  unexpected  demonstration  meant,  but  we 
were  not  long  in  learning  that  it  meant  injury,  rob- 
bery, outrage,  and  probably  murder.  Immediately 
Goodman  delivered  one  of  his  right  hand  swings 
straight  for  the  jaw  of  the  foremost  thug,  and  he 
fell  as  if  stricken  by  an  electric  shock.  In  the  mean- 
time both  of  my  arms  were  pinioned  behind  me  by 
two  husky  ruffians.  Goodman  attempted  to  rescue 
me,  and  received  a  blow  on  the  arm  which  deprived 
him  temporarily  of  its  use.  The  ruffians  were  dis- 
mayed at  Goodman's  force  of  arm  and  physique  and 
turned  their  attenton  toward  me.  I  called  out,  "Run. 
Max,  run."  Goodman  was  loath  to  leave  me,  but  he 
soon  took  to  his  heels  when  two  men  of  his  size  ad- 
vanced towards  him. 

They  dragged  me  into  a  dark  alley  nearby  and 
there  they  cursed  and  swore  on  finding  that  I  was 
penniless,  with  the  exception  of  about  two  measley 

60 


^  _ 

^ 

^^K 

1 

^^ 

■'Immcrliatclv 
Hand 


finDclman    Delivered    one 
Swiii.q-s    Strai.uht     for    llic 


of    His 
law." 


Right 


Wrnu'rilusi  ) 


WANDERLUST 

francs.  The  ruffians  seemed  fearfully  disappointed 
in  that  they  found  such  a  small  mite  upon  my  per- 
son, for  most  foreigners  have  the  erroneous  im- 
pression that  all  Americans  are  millionaires.  Fool- 
ish idea.  They  seemed  to  think  that  Max  would  re- 
turn with  help,  and,  after  administering  several  hard 
kicks  and  knocks  over  my  head  and  on  my  body,  I 
was  left  to  the  mercies  of  Providence,  bleeding, 
dazed  and  semi-conscious.  I  staggered  to  my  feet 
and  attempted  to  find  the  way  to  rhy  hotel  and  my 
friends.  Never  again  do  I  expect  to  feel  as  I  did 
that  morning  as  I  sneaked  into  the  hotel,  after  hav- 
ing spent  such  a  miserable  and  perilous  night  wan- 
dering forlornly  through  the  still  and  desolate  ave- 
nues of  the  Latin  Quarter. 

Realizing  that  something  must  be  done,  we  man- 
aged to  secure  enough  money  to  pay  our  board  bill 
and  purchase  tickets  to  London.  That  night  we  bade 
farewell  to  Paris,  and  started  for  London,  where  we 
arrived  at  an  early  hour,  without  a  blooming  sou  in 
in  our  pockets.  We  finally  found  a  boarding  place 
and  spent  the  morning  in  sleeping.  In  the  after- 
noon we  set  out  and  pawned  what  little  jewelry  we 
had  with  us,  with  which  I  secured  food. 

Goodman  and  I  had  been  thinking  of  going  to 
Odessa,  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  now  that  we  were 
desperate  we  decided  to  make  the  trip,  if  there  was 
any  possible  way. 

After  we  had  been  in  London  some  days,  we  went 
down  on  the  Thames  where  the  big  ships  were 
docked,  and  finding  one  ready  to  set  out  for  Odessa, 
we  stole  aboard  and  stowed  away  in  the  bottom  of 
the  ship,  where  no  one  was  likely  to  discover  us 

61 


WANDERLUST 

When  well  at  sea,  we  intended  coming  out  and  of- 
fering to  do  w^hatever  we  were  ordered.  Even  hard 
work  on  a  ship  was  better  than  starving  in  London, 
for  sailors  are  usually  given  potatoes  three  times  a 
day,  while  a  penniless  man  in  London  knows  not 
whence  comes  the  next  meal. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  dark,  dirty,  foul-smelling  ship 
we  lay  for  hours,  thinking  every  moment  that  she 
would  start,  but  to  our  disappointment  it  was  another 
half  day  before  she  set  out  on  her  voyage.  All  this 
time  we  had  been  without  a  single  mouthful  of  food 
or  a  drop  of  water.  We  became  desperate  and 
crawled  out  of  our  hiding  place  to  the  deck,  where 
we  were  soon  spied  and  despite  our  pleading  and 
begging,  we  were  ordered  ashore. 

The  ship  was  now  slowly  wending  its  way  down 
the  Thames,  with  the  pilot  skilfully  guiding  it 
through  the  deep  channels.  On  either  side  were  the 
banks  dotted  with  the  little  huts  of  fishermen  and 
sailors.  We  were  so  feeble  from  our  fast  and  from 
lying  in  that  cramped  position  for  hours  that  neither 
of  us  could  barely  move,  and  when  we  were  told  we 
would  have  to  swim  ashore  I  almost  fainted.  I 
had  never  had  much  practice  in  swimming  and  to 
undertake  such  a  task  at  this  time  seemed  suicidal, 
for  I  knew  that  I  was  too  weak  to  hold  out. 

The  sailors  crowded  about  us,  and  our  delay 
seemed  to  excite  the  anger  of  the  officer  who  was 
ordering  us  around.  He  shouted  that  if  we  didn't 
make  haste  he  would  have  us  lowered  over  the  side 
of  the  ship  by  ropes.  Realizing  that  the  only  thing 
to  do  was  to  swim,  we  climbed  down  the  rope  lad- 
der on  the  starboard  side.    Max  went  first  and  when 

62- 


WANDERLUST 

at  the  end  of  the  ladder  he  leaped  into  the 
river  and  began  swimming  toward  the  shore.  I 
yelled  at  him  to  wait  for  me,  but  he  kept  on,  seem- 
ingly frightened  out  of  his  wits.  Now  that  it  was 
up  to  me  I  climbed  slowly  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  ladder,  and  there  1  clung  hesitating.  What 
would  it  be,  suicide  or  murder?  I  felt  that  if  I 
should  attempt  to  swim  I  would  surely  drown. 
Yet  if  I  did  not  the  sailors  threatened  to  throw  me 
over. 

While  clinging  to  the  end  of  the  ladder  it  was 
jerked  violently  out  of  my  hold,  and,  losing  my  bal- 
ance, I  plunged  backw^ard  into  the  river.  As  I  fell 
I  heard  the  wild,  hideous  shouts  of  the  sailors  above 
who  were  leaning  over  the  deck  rail. 

It  is  a  well  know^n  fact  that  one  can  be  drawn  un- 
der a  ship  by  the  suction  and  cut  to  pieces  by  the 
propeller.  Naturally,  this  thought  flashed  into  my 
mind  as  I  sank  into  the  water.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  my  time  had  come,  but  I  was  not  one  to  give 
up  all  hope.  When  I  came  up  again  to  the  water^s 
surface  I  beat  desperately  and  frantically  to  keep 
from  going  under  the  second  time.  Fighting  for 
safety,  I  began  swimmliig  tow^ard  the  bank,  some 
hundred  yards  away.  Before  I  had  gone  ten  yards, 
I  realized  my  wet  clothes  were  hindering  my  prog- 
ress. I  fought  with  the  current  more  desperately 
than  ever,  for  the  sounds  of  "Help!  Help!"  were 
ringing  in  my  ears. 

I  reached  the  bank  safely,  but  so  worn  out  that  I 
could  scarcely  drag  my  limp  body  to  dry  land.  Look- 
ing over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  poor  old  Max  lying  on 
the  opposite  bank,  and  when  I  waved  my  drenched 

63 


WANDERLUST! 

handkerchief  to  him,  he  saluted  by  a  wave  of  the 

arm. 

Fortunately  the  sun  was  shining,  and  on  the  grassy 
banks  of  the  Thames  we  sprawled  in  the  warm 
rays  while  our  drenched  garments  were  being  dried. 
When  our  clothes  had  been  sufficiently  dried  we  pro- 
ceeded up  the  banks  opposite  each  other,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  we  were  gripping  hands. 

The  following  day  while  strolling  along  the  Strand 
we  met  a  couple  of  friends.  Bob  Morris  and  Nelson, 
both  of  Georgetown  University.  These  fellows  had 
just  arrived  in  London  and  from  them  we  secured 
a  small  loan,  which  was,  at  least  enough  to  feed  us 
for  several  days  to  come.  A  few  days  later  our 
troubles  ended,  for  Goodman  received  a  letter  con- 
taining a  considerable  sum  and  on  the  first  outgoing 
steamer  he  sailed  for  New  York. 

Two  days  later  I  was  steaming  homeward  on  a 
cattle  boat.  The  return  trip  lasted  ten  days  and  the 
monotony  of  it  soon  palled  upon  me. 


64 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  following  fall  at  the  University  was  a  trying 
one  for  it  was  darned  hard  to  get  back  to  the  studies 
after  such  a  bully  good  time  tramping  over  Europe. 
There  wasn't  much  midnight  oil  wasted,  for  I  w^as 
too  full  of  foot-ball.  Ten  good  men  were  trying  for 
my  place  on  the  team,  and  consequently  it  took  all 
of  my  time  to  hold  down  left-half  on  the  Varsity 
eleven. 

Well,  I  won,  and  we  had  some  dandy  times  on  the 
trips  that  season.  Warner,  Cornell's  old  coach, 
trained  us  that  fall  and  he  had  a  fine  lot  of  material 
to  pick  from.  After  we  had  played  the  Thanksgiv- 
ing game,  with  the  University  of  Virginia,  I  returned 
home,  and  remaining  there  only  a  few  days,  departed 
for  Washington,  D.  C,  where  I  secured  a  position 
with  the  Washington  Times. 

While  at  the  Naval  Academy  on  a  football  trip, 
the  year  before,  I  met  a  young  chap  by  the  name  of 
Anderson.  He  came  to  Washington  in  January 
shortly  after  being  expelled  from  the  Academy  for 
hazing  and  proposed  to  me  that  we  two  hit  it  for  the 
West  together.  This  idea  struck  me  in  the  right 
place  and  at  the  right  time,  for  I  had  been  contem- 
plating another  chase  over  some  part  of  the  world. 
He  was  from  the  Naval  Academy  and  I  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  but  then  and  there  we 
joined  forces  to  matriculate  in  that  larger,  but  less 

65 


lWANDERLUST 

select  college — the  University  of  Experience.  I,  of 
course,  had  had  more  training  in  that  school  than 
Anderson,  but  I  knew  that  he'd  be  game  to  the  last. 
Of  all  my  experiences,  I  dare  say  that  not  the  least 
adventurous  I  ever  butted  into  was  when  in  com- 
pany with  Will  Anderson,  I  boarded  the  train  at 
Washington  and  began  our  journey  toward  the  set- 
ting sun. 

We  purchased  tickets  to  St.  Louis  by  way  of  Chi- 
cago at  a  cut  rate  price,  and  landed  in  the  Windy 
City  on  a  Monday  morning.  A  gloomy  looking  day 
it  was,  too,  our  joint  possessions  amounting  to  thirty 
cents.  After  receiving  a  rebate  on  our  railroad  tick- 
ets, which  amounted  to  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents, 
we  entered  a  certain  restaurant  where  the  waiters 
neither  wear  dress  suits,  nor  expect  exorbitant  per- 
quisites. Each  having  replenished  the  inner  man 
with  Clarke  street  dainties,  we  began  our  search  for 
something  to  do,  but  finding  congenial  employment 
proved  a  much  harder  task  than  when  we  used  to 
tell  how  to  do  it  back  in  Washington.  We  com- 
menced by  hitting  for  such  positions  as  newspaper 
reporters,  office  assistants,  and  the  like ;  we  ended  by 
accepting  positions? — no,  just  ordinary  jobs,  I  as  a 
laborer  in  a  lead  mill  just  off  Halstead  street,  while 
Will  answered  to  ''Front/'  doing  the  bell  hopping  act 
at  a  north  side  family  hotel.  For  my  work  T  re- 
ceived one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  a  day,  and, 
truly,  it  was  the  darnest  hardest  money  I  ever  earned 
in  all  my  life.  It  simply  meant  lifting  big  lead  bars 
weighing  anywhere  from  one  hundred  to  tw^o  hun- 
dred pounds  all  the  day  long,  that  is,  from  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning  till  five  in  the  afternoon  with  half 

66 


WANDERLUST 

an  hour  at  noon  for  lunch.  My  room  and  board  cost 
me  five  dollars  a  week  so  at  the  end  of  the  first  six 
days  I  had  a  few  dollars  in  my  pocket. 

I  boarded  at  a  restaurant  on  Halstead  street,  and 
the  proprietor  of  this  notorious  establishment  was 
formerly  a  cab  driver  in  Paris.  Evenings,  after  I  had 
finished  my  work,  we  two  would  have  long  talks 
about  the  city  of  pleasures,  for  both  of  us  knew  the 
place  pretty  well,  he  having  lived  there  the  greater 
part  of  his  life,  and  I  having  been  there  several 
times.  Gee !  but  this  was  a  tough  joint.  During  my 
stay  there  I  was  afraid  of  being  killed  for  there  were 
murders  taking  place  around  there  very  frequently, 
as  the  scareheads  of  that  date  will  testify.  I  could 
hardly  have  expected  anything  better  on  Halstead 
street,  for  those  who  are  acquainted  with  that 
particular  section  of  Chicago  will  tell  you  that 
there's  scarcely  a  place  on  the  toughest  part  of  the 
Bowery  that  can  compare  with  certain  sections  of 
that  famous  Chicago  street. 

Anderson  acted  his  part  of  an  old  experienced  bell 
hop  at  the  Virginia  Hotel  on  the  north  side  of  the 
city.  For  this  he  received  seven  dollars  per  week 
and  meals.  At  night  he  came  to  my  room  on  Hal- 
stead street  and  we  bunked  together.  He  was  usu- 
ally on  duty  at  night  till  about  ten  o'clock,  and  after 
finishing  his  work  it  would  take  him  about  one  hour 
to  ride  over  the  city  to  where  we  were  rooming.  It 
mattered  not  how  tired  I  was,  I  would  always  sit 
up  and  await  his  coming,  for  it  was  awfully  lonely 
there  by  myself.  Not  wishing  to  make  these  exalted 
positions  a  life  business,  in  a  couple  of  weeks  we 
"resigned  our    commissions,'^    donned    our    happy 

67 


WANDERLUST 

habiliments  and  wended  our  way  to  a  certain  mail 
order  establishment,  and  after  much  wagging  of 
tongues,  finally  found  ourselves  correspondents  at 
$15.00  per.  But  we  didn't  care  to  confine  ourselves 
to  stereotyped  forms,  and  much  preferred  to  let  our 
pens  wander,  and  to  be  original,  so,  not  knowing 
when  we  were  well  off,  quit  that. 

Then  we  thought  we  would  like  the  peaceful,  care- 
free life  of  the  farm,  so  hired  to  a  j\Ir.  Heren  of 
Crystal  Lake,  111.,  as  experienced  farm  hands.  This 
Mr.  Heren  had  offices  in  the  Monadnock  Building, 
and  we  were  sent  to  him  by  the  manager  of  the  Em- 
ployment Agency.  When  this  particular  individual, 
who  wanted  a  couple  of  good  farm  hands  out  on  his 
place,  learned  that  I  was  handy  with  tools  and  that 
Anderson  could  milk  a  cow  to  a  finish,  he  was  more 
than  pleased.  He  furnished  us  tickets  to  Crystal 
Lake  which  was  forty  miles  from  Chicago,  and  there 
we  landed  the  next  day. 

As  we  alighted  from  the  train  at  that  future  me- 
tropolis, Will  chewing  a  straw  in  typical  reuben 
fashion,  and  I  furbishing  my  talk  with  many  "by 
goshes"  and  "gol  derns,"  I  was  sure  I  could  discern 
a  superior  knowing  smile  on  the  face  of  thg  foreman 
in  the  wagon  nearby,  when,  after  the  explanations, 
he  told  us  to  ''hop  in." 

Could  I  plow?  Yes,  I  could  plow.  Could  Ander- 
son milk?  Yes,  he  could  milk.  Well,  I  shall  never 
forget  the  numerous  "beefs"  he  made  while  posing 
as  an  "experienced  farm  hand."  How^  he  strapped 
the  halter  on  the  horse's  back  and  led  him  out  to 
water;  how  he  wasn't  satisfied  with  having  the 
horses  drag  only  the  harrow  after  them,  but  had  to 

68 


WANDERLUST 

take  several  rods  of  picket  fence  with  him  when 
driving  them  through  the  gate ;  how,  when  there  were 
only  two  ways  of  doing  a  thing  he  would  invariably 
do  it  the  wrong  way — in  fact,  while  I  made  a  better 
showing  that  he,  the  only  thing  that  either  of  us 
did  like  ''experienced  farm  hands"  was  to  consume 
large  quantities  of  food  at  meal  times.  Well  do  I  re- 
member how  we  used  to  sit  opposite  one  another  at 
the  table  and  giggle,  and  tee-hee  like  a  couple  of 
school  girls,  and  how,  after  controlling  our  risibles 
for  a  while,  we  fairly  exploded  when  Heren,  Jr., 
told  us  we  looked  like  a  couple  of  fellows  who  had 
run  away  from  school. 

Anderson's  efforts  at  milking !  Goodness,  but  they 
were  fierce !  I  shall  never  forget  his  attempts  at  the 
first  cow  he  "milked."  He  went  after  that  bovine 
with  vengeance,  and  did  his  utmost  to  coax,  bribe, 
threaten  or  cajole  her  into  giving  up  her  milk,  by 
getting  half  Nelsons  and  hammerlocks  around  the 
necessary  part  of  her  anatomy,  but  like  the  rest  of 
her  sex,  she  was  stubborn  when  she  wished  to  be, 
and  absolutely  refused.  So  when  Norman,  the  fore- 
man of  the  farm,  returned  to  the  scene  of  action, 
she  was  complacently  chewing  her  cud,  and  Ander- 
son, like  the  hero  in  the  story  books,  was  making  a 
last  "almost  superhuman  effort"  to  make  her  come 
across — and  the  pail  was  empty.  I  guess  Norman 
thought  he  might  be  able  to  get  milk  from  a  con- 
densed can,  but  when  it  comes  to  cows,  "Nay,  nay, 
Pauline." 

About  my  plowing!  Those  furrows  looked  about 
as  straight  as  a  writhing  sea-serpent  with  a  bad 
stomach  ache,  with  no  wintergreen  handy,  and  to 

69 


WANDERLUST 

Norman's  practiced  eye  they  must  have  looked  twice 
that  bad.  Oh !  but  I  was  ''handy  with  tools," — even 
if  I  didn't  know  a  hammer  from  a  pickaxe ! 

Those  long-suffering  people  stood  for  all  that,  but 
our  services  were  no  longer  required  when  Anderson 
buckled  the  belly  band  around  the  horse's  tail,  fed 
him  straw  and  bedded  him  with  hay.  Nevertheless 
at  the  same  time  Heren,  Jr.,  treated  us  royally  under 
the  circumstances,  and  if  laughing  really  makes  a 
man  fat,  he  surely  ought  to  have  been  a  heavyweight 
by  the  time  we  left.  And  strangely  enough  when  we 
'fessed  up,  he  didn't  seem  astounded  in  the  least. 
Sometimes  I  even  doubt  whether  he  ever  thought 
we  were  experienced  farmers. 

Then  that  handy  man  job  in  "Chi"  with  me  for 
the  man,  who  couldn't  drive  a  nail  without  bending 
it,  or  hitting  his  fingers,  and,  consequently  saying 
things. 

A  week  on  the  farm  was  enough,  for  Norman  de- 
cided that  he  couldn't  use  us  to  a  good  advantage,  so 
back  to  the  city  we  went. 

y  As  soon  as  we  arrived  in  Chicago  we  struck  out 
for  an  Employment  Agency  and  were  not  long  in 
securing  a  place  out  on  the  North  side.  How  we 
used  to  make  the  dust  fly  out  of  those  Brussels  car- 
pets and  Oriental  rugs,  and  make  the  lawn  mowers 
sing  over  the  smooth  lawns  of  that  richly  inhabited 
settlement.  We  worked  for  a  man  who  had  a  con- 
tract with  about  twenty  people  of  the  settlement  to 
keep  their  carpets  beaten  and  their  lawns  mown,  and 
to  do  odd  jobs  around  the  houses. 

We  rented  a  room  only  a  few  blocks  from  where 
our  work  lay,  and  three  times  per  diem  we  did  the 

70 


WANDERLUST 

gastronomic  stunt.  Oh,  what  a  whole  bunch  of 
things  we  did  do,  such  as  flirting  over  the  back 
fences  with  the  maids  in  typical  "handy  man"  fash- 
ion. 

When  I  think  of  the  time  when  we  painted  the  in- 
terior of  the  house  for  one  Mr.  Farnsworth,  our  em- 
ployer, I  certainly  smile  out  loud.  We  painted  every- 
thing except  the  paper  on  the  wall,  and  we  would 
have  done  that  had  there  been  any  to  paint.  And 
when  Mr.  Farnsworth,  assuming  the  role  of  an  art 
critic,  said,  ''That's  a  very  poor  job,  boys,"  Ander- 
son replied,  "Well,  you  can't  expect  a  Raphael  for 
twelve  dollars  a  week."  This,  like  our  other  jobs, 
did  not  last  long,  for  two  hours  afterward  Farns- 
worth learned  of  the  fight  I  had  had  with  Mrs.  Wil- 
liams' cook,  an  Irish  lady  of  some  two  hundred 
pounds,  and  he  promptly  fired  us. 

When  he  turned  us  off  we  each  had  about  five 
dollars  coming  to  us  so  we  lit  out  for  our  old  haunts 
over  on  Halstead  street,  where  we  knew  that  board 
would  be  cheap  at  five  "per."  By  this  time  we  were 
both  getting  pretty  tired  of  the  city  proper  and 
wanted  to  get  out  on  the  big  ranch  lands  of  the 
Northwest,  where  we  could  work  and  probably  save 
a  little  money.  I  finally  hatched  up  a  scheme  by 
which  we  were  able  to  make  enough  of  the  "elusive" 
to  pay  our  way  into  the  wild  and  wooly  West.  It 
was  on  a  Saturday  night  that  we  put  into  practice 
this  well  grounded  scheme  of  mine. 

Away  back  in  my  knickerbocker  days  I  had  had 

some  experience  as  a  patent  medicine  peddler,  so  it 

^  ^     dawned  on  me  that  we  would  be  able  to  make  a  few 

dollars  by  selling  patent  medicines.    Saturday  after- 

71 


WANDERLUST 

noon  I  rented  from  my  friend  Ikey  a  long  black  coat, 
a  tall  silk  hat,  a  big  imitation  diamond,  and  a  few 
other  little  necessary  articles  to  give  me  the  appear- 
ance of  a  typical  patent  medicine  doctor.  At  the 
Drug  Store  around  the  corner  from  where  we  lived 
I  purchased  a  dime's  worth  of  new  stoppers,  a  piece 
of  red  sealing  wax,  a  couple  of  bottles  of  vanilla, 
and  one  small  bottle  of  myrrh.  These  articles  safely 
stored  in  my  room,  I  put  Anderson  to  work  making 
the  wyonderful  preparation,  while  I  went  out  to  pur- 
chase a  basketful  of  bottles  from  the  second  hand 
bottle  dealer.  Returning  to  the  room  with  the  bot- 
tles, about  one  hundred  in  all,  I  found  that  Will  had 
the  mixtures  prepared  and  then  we  set  ourselves  to 
Avork  filling  the-  bottles.  After  all  the  bottles  had 
been  filled  we  placed  a  new  stopper  in  each  one, 
then  sealed  it  artistically  with  the  highly  colored  wax. 

Saturday  night  is  a  joyful  one  for  the  laboring 
people  of  that  section  of  Chicago,  so  by  eight  o'clock 
we  had  our  drygoods  box  placed  on  the  corner  of 
Halstead  and  Van  Buren  streets,  I  think,  where 
there  are  hundreds  of  people  passing  all  the  time. 
A  big  torch  was  burning,  and  there  I  stood  on  top  of 
the  box  all  decked  out  in  my  "rentals,"  making  the 
greatest  speech  of  my  life  to  the  people  who  crowd- 
ed around.  I  ended  bv  savingf,  "Now,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  is  the  time,  for  there  are  only  a  few  bot- 
tles of  this  wonderful  compound  left." 

Anderson,  who  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
crowd,  elbowed  his  way  to  the  front,  planked  fifty 
cents  down  on  the  box  and  at  the  same  time  remark- 
ing, "Give  me  a  bottle  of  that;  it  is  the  only  kind 
that  ever  done  me  any  good."    It  is  wonderful  how 

72 


"A   big  Torch    was    Burning,    and    there    I    Stood    on    Top 
of  the  Box  all  Decked  out  in  mv  Rentals." 


(  Wnnrlrrlvfil  ) 


WANDERLUST 

the  sophisticated  inhabitants  of  large  cities  can  be 
fooled.  This  started  them,  and  it  wasn't  long  before 
our  supply  was  exhausted.  I  returned  the  clothes  to 
my  friend  Ikey,  and  the  next  day  we  were  on  our 
way  to  the  real  West,  our  tickets  reading  Yankton, 
South  Dakota. 

The  morning  we  arrived  in  Yankton  it  was  rain- 
ing, so  instead  of  going  out  to  look  for  a  job,  we  hung 
around  one  of  the  general  mercantile  establish- 
ments all  the  forenoon.  We  had  only  about  twenty 
cents  between  us  and  we  spent  it  for  sardines  and 
soda  crackers.  That  afternoon  we  were  successful 
in  landing  a  job  out  on  Brown's  ra^ph,  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles  from  Yankton. 

We  leared  that  Brown  had  been  wanting  a  couple 
of  men  for  some  time,  and  he  had  notified  the  man- 
ager of  the  store  to  the  efifect  that  if  any  stray  ones 
came  around  his  place  of  business  to  advise  him  and 
he  would  send  in  after  them.  The  storekeeper  put 
the  proposition  up  to  us  and  we  accepted  on  the  spot. 
We  had  to  spend  the  night  in  Yankton,  and  he  ad- 
vanced us  money  with  which  to  pay  our  lodging. 
The  next  morning,  by  break  of  day,  we  were  on  our 
way  to  the  great  ranch  lands  and  those  two  little 
western  horses  attached  to  that  light  wagon  were 
only  about  six  hours  in  conveying  us  to  "Brown's 
X,"  as  it  was  generally  known  throughout  the  coun- 
try of  South  Dakota. 

Six  long  lonely  months  were  enough  on  that  ranch. 
There  was  only  one  incident  of  any  impor- 
tance during  our  stay  at  Brown's  place  in  the  heart 
of  the  range  country  of  Dakota.  A  part  of  a  letter 
received  from  my  good  friend  Anderson  not  many 

7Z 


WANDERLUST 

months  ago  will  acquaint  the  reader  with  this  little 
episode  of  mine.  In  recalling  some  of  our  past  ex- 
periences, he  writes:  *'Say,  but  didn't  we  make  the 
eatables  do  the  disappearing  act,  though,  when  we 
would  come  in  after  inhaling  great  draughts  of 
Dakota  ozone?  And  those  cow-punchers  were  all 
good  fellows — that  is,  all  except  Baker.  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  understand  why  he  had  it  in  for  you,  unless 
it  was  your  unconscious  'hit'  with  that  Parker  girl, 
and  I  think  he  had  designs  on  her  himself.  I  believe 
that  when  he  dared  you  to  ride  that  'bronco'  without 
saddle,  bridle,  or  stirrups,  or  anything  else  except 
a  girth,  that  he  hoped  you  would  either  be  killed  or 
permanently  injured,  for  he  seemed  disappomted 
when  you  came  out  unscratched.  Straddling  the 
bare  back  of  an  'outlaw'  with  a  mean  disposition  is 
a  darn  tough  proposition,  especially  as  you  have 
nothing  to  hold  on  to  except  the  mane.  I'll  never 
forget  the  day  Baker  told  the  Bunch  that  after  he 
had  finished  dinner  he  was  going  to  show  that  'col- 
lege kid'  a  few  things  about  the  manly  art,  and 
when  you  came  to,  you  would  probably  know  some- 
thing. 

"When  you  came  in  the  bunk  house  I  had  a  hunch 
that  there  was  going  to  be  something  doing  of  a  dis- 
agreeable nature,  and  I  was  a  trifle  uneasy,  as  Baker 
was  really  an  excellent  specimen  of  physical  man- 
hood— but  then  so  was  Reynolds  an  excellent  speci- 
men of  physical  manhood,  and,  incidentally,  the  lat- 
ter knew  a  few  things  about  that  'manly  art.' 

"Truly,  I  gloated  inwardly  when,  after  he  'cussed 
you  out/  and  you  proceeded  to  give  him  a  little 

74 


"Straddlino     the     Bare    Rack    of    an     Dutlaw 
Proposition." 


a    Touj^rh 


(  lianilrrlust) 


WANDERLUST 

practical  demonstration  of  'fist  against  face  and  face 
against  floor,'  and  repeated  the  same  until  he  had 
had  enough. 

"  'He  was  going  to  hit  you.'  Yes,  the  horrid,  mean, 
cruel,  brutal  man.  He  hit  your  fist  so  hard  with  his 
jaw  that  the  sheer  force  of  it  knocked  him  down. 
But  he  at  least  was  man  enough  to  apologize,  and  I 
noticed  a  marked  change  in  him  from  that  day  on,  a 
change  in  both  countenance  and  manner." 

Six  months  in  the  bad  lands  of  Dakota  had  tanned 
me  till  I  could  hardly  be  told  from  an  Indian.  It  did 
not  affect  Anderson  so  much  for  he  was  naturally 
dark  skinned  and  the  change  was  not  so  perceptible. 
I  put  on  about  twenty  pounds  while  he  added  over 
ten.  Six  full  months  there  had  broadened,  thick- 
ened and  toughened  us. 

On  our  way  back  East  we  stopped  over  in  St. 
Paul  for  several  days,  and  there  we  blew  in  the  little 
sums  which  represented  six  hard  months'  work  at 
thirty  dollars  per.  As  the  old  fellow  would  say, 
"we  did  it  brown,"  and  had  we  not  purchased 
through  tickets  to  Chicago  from  Yankton,  we  never 
would  have  landed  there  seven  days  after  leaving 
the  ranch  lands. 

At  any  rate  we  landed  in  Chicago  safe  and  sound, 
and  not  a  sou  between  the  two  of  us.  On  leaving  St. 
Paul  we  had  forty-two  cents;  forty  cents  we  spent 
on  the  train  for  oranges,  bananas  and  a  couple  of 
magazines,  while  the  two  cents  was  spent  for  a  post- 
age stamp.  This  stamp  was  used  in  mailing  Ander- 
son's letter,  which  he  had  written  about  a  month  be- 
fore while  we  were  doing  the  cowboy  stunt. 

When  we  alighted  from  the  train  we  were  truly 

7S 


W  AN  D  E  R  L  U  S  T 

two  wild  looking  men,  for  neither  of  us  had  suffi- 
cient or  proper  clothing.  We  had  intended  purchas- 
ing some  garments  in  St.  Paul  during  our  stay  there, 
but  by  the  time  we  were  ready  to  make  our  purchases 
we  found  that  we  were  minus  the  cash  capital  re- 
quired. Both  of  us  wore  sombreros,  overalls  and 
flannel  shirts.  Back  in  the  Windy  City  and  broke 
again !  But  this  thought  did  not  haunt  us  for  we  had 
grown  accustomed  to  being  in  that  condition,  no 
longer   embarrassing. 

We  proceeded  to  an  Employment  Agency,  where 
we  had  a  few  months  previously  secured  positions, 
and  again  we  made  application  for  jobs.  "Just  any- 
thing," for  we  were  down  and  out  and  needed  the 
money.  We  told  the  manager  that  we  had  had  some 
experience  as  housemen  and  such  a  job  would  suit 
us  well  enough.  He  informed  us  that  he  had  a  call 
for  a  couple  of  men  out  on  East  End  Avenue  in  the 
Hyde  Park  section,  and  that  we  might  go  out  there 
and  make  application  for  the  places. 

We  didn't  have  a  darn  cent  to  deposit  with  him 
for  securing  the  places  for  us,  so  he  decided  to  wait 
for  his  money  till  we  had  drawn  our  first  week's 
wages.  He  said  we  looked  pretty  honest  and  that 
he  would  trust  us  for  the  four  dollars.  He  further 
added  that  we  looked  more  like  bronco  busters  or 
prize  fighters  than  we  did  like  housemen.  He  'phoned 
to  the  house  on  East  End  Avenue  where  they  wanted 
the  men  and  told  them  that  we  were  coming  out. 
From  this  particular  Employment  Agency  to  the 
house  where  we  were  to  go  it  was  a  distance  of  eight 
miles  so  we  had  to  hoof  it  out  there,  for  neither  of  us 
had  carfare. 

76 


"That    N'ight   we   Slept   on    the    Benches    in    Lincoln    {*ark. 


WANDERLUST 

Well,  in  short,  we  arrived  there  about  dusk  and 
were  successful  in  securing  the  places  as  housemen 
for  this  millionaire.  We  were  to  begin  work  next 
morning,  so  we  hit  toward  a  restaurant  where  we 
got  supper  for  carrying  in  about  a  ton  of  coal  from 
the  street  to  the  third  story  of  a  cheap  tenement 
house.  That  night  we  slept  on  the  benches  in  Lin- 
coln Park  and  at  six  the  next  morning  were  at  our 
posts. 

The  work  pleased  us  all  ri^ht,  for  it  was  light  and 
simply  meant  beating  carpets,  scrubbing  floors, 
washing  windows,  mowing  the  lawns,  polishing  the 
brass  on  the  doors,  in  fact  merely  carrying  out  the 
duties  of  an  every  day  houseman. 

We  were  working  for  the  Coleridges.  The  old 
gentleman  was  a  wealthy  glass  manufacturer,  and 
for  our  services  at  this  particular  residence  we  re- 
ceived ten  dollars  per,  meals  included.  Oh,  we  used 
to  have  sorhe  lively  times. 

One  day,  while  busily  engaged  in  the  reception 
hall,  scrubbing  the  marble  stairway,  I  cast  my  peep- 
ers on  the  card  tray,  and,  my  curiosity  being  aroused, 
I  "copped"  a  couple  of  invitations  the  postman  had 
brought  that  morning.  There  were  five  in  all,  so 
I  thought  that  two  would  be  enough  for  Anderson 
and  myself.  When  I  went  down  in  the  basement  to 
get  some  more  clean  rags  from  the  laundry  girl.  An- 
derson was  there  engaged  in  sweeping.  I  gave  him 
the  wink  and  a  nod,  and  when  he  came  out  we  went 
back  to  the  furnace  room  and  examined  the  invita- 
tions to  a  dance  which  was  to  be  given  by  Mrs. 
Ostrand  at  her  residence  on  Cornell  Avenue.  We 
then  and  there  decided  to  accept. 

77 


WANDERLUST 

The  time  for  this  affair  soon  came  around  and  we 
held  our  nerve  for  we  were  determined  to  do  the  Sol- 
dier of  Fortune  act  once  in  our  lives.  The  afternoon 
before  the  dance  we  stopped  work  about  four  o'clock 
and  went  to  our  room  where  there  was  some  tall 
scrubbing,  and  much  time  spent  on  our  rusty  hides. 
This  preliminary  part  of  the  toilet  completed,  we 
took  a  car  downtown  and  there  I  made  arrangements 
to  rent  a  pair  of  pumps,  silk  hat,  white  kid  gloves, 
full  dress  suit,  top  coat  and  the  other  necessary  ap- 
parel. While  I  was  getting  fitted  up  in  this  estab- 
Hshment,  Anderson  busied  himself  in  purchasing  a 
few  toilet  articles. 

We  set  out,  I  in  my  rented  clothes,  and  he  in  his 
full  dress  uniform,  which  he  had  no  right  to  wear. 
On  turning  the  corner  we  hailed  a  cab  and  had  the 
driver  head  toward  Mr.  Ostrand's.  We  drove  swift- 
ly up  the  drivev/ay,  alighted,  and  presented  our  cards 
of  admission.  Ten  minutes  later  found  us  in  the 
reception  hall  looking  casually  about,  smiling  and 
talking  pleasantly  to  one  another.  I  remarked  that  it 
was  very  strange  that  our  friends  were  not  there  to 
receive  us  after  our  having  received  such  a  cordial 
invitation.  Anderson  ventured,  ''Well,  indeed,  it  is 
embarrassing  for  us  that  our  friends  have  neglected 
us  so  shamefully." 

We  saw  that  we  were  not  making  any  progress 
standing  there  so  we  entered  the  big  ball  room,  which 
was  one  lovely  sight.  The  floral  decorations  were 
beautiful  and  the  music  rendered  by  the  orchestra 
was  perfect.  The  ball  room  was  filled  with  beauti- 
ful women,  who  wore  handsome  gowns  and  precious 
jewels.    We  rubbed  shoulders  with  the  best  of  them 

78 


WANDERLUST 

and  my  chance  was  not  long  in  coming.  We  were 
rather  to  the  side  of  the  big  foldmg  doors 
leading  to  the  reception  hall.  A  couple  of  young 
ladies  nearby  were  apparently  engaged  m  some 
interesting  topic  of  conversation.  They  had  only 
been  there  a  few  moments  when  a  young  fel- 
low walked  up  to  them  and  addressing  the  brunette, 
said  "Why,  how  do  you  do.  Miss  Miles,  how  are 
you'^"  She  greeted  him  cordially  and  he  began  to 
inquire  about  her  people  back  in  Iowa;  ho^y  long 
she  was  going  to  be  in  Chicago,  and  a  number  of 
other  questions.  I  overheard  the  whole  conversation 
so  I  whispered  to  Anderson,  ''Well,  old  man  this 
is  my  chance,  lie  low  and  watch  your  Uncle  Dudley. 

I  left  his  side  and  an  instant  later  I  was  standing 
face  to  face  with  the  young  lady  whose  name  was 
IMiles.  Approaching  her,  I  extended  my  hand  in  a 
most  familiar  manner,  and  at  the  same  time  said, 
^'Whv  INIiss  jMiles,  how  are  you,  how  are  your  folks 
in  Iowa?     What  a  delightful  time  we  had  at  the 

last  dance."  . 

She  looked  at  me  in  a  doubtful  sort  of  way  and 

replied,  'T'm  sorry,  but  I  don't  believe  I  remember 

^^''Condon,"  I  volunteered,  and  then  she  smiled 
sweetly  and  said,  ''Oh,  yes,  certainly  I  remember 
you,  Mr.  Condon,  how  stupid  of  me  to  have  forgot- 
ten " 

I  pretended  I  had  met  her  out  in  Iowa  at  a  dance 
and  she  never  knew  the  difference  or  even  suspect- 
ed me  in  the  least.  She  introduced  me  to  the  blonde 
with  whom  she  had  been  conversing  and  shortly  af- 
terward I  motioned  Anderson  over  to  where  we  were 

79 


WANDERLUST 

standing  and  presented  him  as  my  young  friend 
who  had  recently  graduated  from  the  U.  S.  Naval 
Academy  and  was  spending  only  a  few  days  in  Chi- 
cago awaiting  his  assignment  to  a  ship. 

Well,  we  met  these  two  girls  and  they  in  turn  in- 
troduced us  to  others,  and  before  we  departed  we 
had  sipped  and  chatted  and  danced  with  many.  We 
avoided  the  hostess  of  the  evening  very  cleverly,  and 
as  luck  would  have  it  none  of  our  new  acquain- 
tances were  so  rude  as  to  inquire  who  invited  us. 

There  was  one  little  incident  of  the  evening  which 
was  the  biggest  piece  of  nerve  I  have  ever  seen  dis- 
played on  any  occasion.  It  was  after  the  fifth  dance 
that  we  spied  the  two  Coleridge  girls  sitting  over  be- 
neath some  palms  in  the  rear  of  the  ball  room.  An- 
derson walked  over  to  where  they  Vv^ere,  and  intro- 
ducing himself,  he  struck  up  a  conversation  with 
these  fair  ones  of  our  own  household.  They  cer- 
tainly did  stare  at  that  young  cadet  and  when  he 
signaled  me  over,  and  in  a  most  diplomatic  manner, 
''May  I  present  Mr.  Condon?"  the  girls  appeared  as 
though  they  knew  not  what  to  say. 

Two  days  later  Mrs.  Coleridge  overheard  a  con- 
versation between  her  daughter  Aileen  and  Ander- 
son. He  was  lovemaking,  and  she  said,  '*0,  Will,  I 
knew  all  the  time  that  you  would  fulfill  my  dream." 

During  the  three  weeks  we  had  been  there  this 
devil  Anderson  had  been  making  eyes  at  "Aliss  Ai- 
leen," as  the  servants  spoke  of  her,  and  it  ended  as 
most  stories  do;  they  saw,  he  loved,  and  she  con- 
quered. On  hearing  this  astounding  conversation, 
Mrs.  Coleridge  promptly  dismissed  us  from  service. 

Out  of  a  job  again !  Well,  what  did  we  care  ?  We 
80 


WANDERLUST 

had  been  in  that  identical  fix  a  score  of  times  before. 

Two  weeks  later  found  us  in  Ohio  as  representa- 
tives for  a  publishing  company,  that  sounds  so  much 
better  than  "just  book  agents,"  where  came  the  "do- 
ing" of  Fostoria,  Tiffin,  and  last  but  not  least,  Fre- 
mont. 

I  can  still  remember  those  samples  of  front  door 
eloquence,  which  we  used  to  reel  off  to  all  the  moth- 
ers. I  shall  never  forget  one  instance  in  particular 
when  I  was  telling  a  mother  these  books  were  worth 
their  bulk  in  diamonds,  their  weight  in  gold,  or  some 
words  to  that  effect,  when  I  happened  to  look  across 
at  Anderson  and  beheld  his  countenance,  usually  sto- 
ical on  such  occasions,  distorted  in  a  good-natured 
grin.  I  exploded  in  laughter,  tried  unsuccessfully  to 
apologize,  then,  not  wishing  to  make  myself  any 
more  ridiculous  than  I  could  help,  bolted  for  the 
screen  door,  slammed  it  after  me,  and  left  one  Wil- 
liam B.  Anderson  of  Brooklyn,  to  make  the  best  of 
the  situation,  while  I  lowered  the  record  for  a  hun- 
dred yard  dash  down  the  street.  But  the  best  part 
of  it  was  that  he  was  more  than  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion, and  sold  her  a  set  of  books. 

We  were  representatives  of  the  Students'  Refer- 
ence W^ork,  an  encyclopedia  in  a  nut  shell,  so  to 
speak,  condensed  for  the  use  of  school  children.  Dur- 
ing ten  days  as  representatives  of  this  publishing 
house  we  found  two  purchasers. 

We  would  stroll  up  to  a  house,  rap,  and  on 
being  confronted  by  the  lady  of  the  house 
we  would  promptly  ask  her  if  she  had  chil- 
dren in  the  public  schools.  As  soon  as  we  asked 
about   her  children,   she   would   become   interested, 

8i 


WANDERLUST 

thinking  we  were  school  authorities,  and  then  invite 
us  inside.  Once  seated  in  the  house  we  would  ap- 
proach the  subject  of  the  child's  advancement  by 
degrees,  and  then  when  the  time  came  I  would  bring 
to  view  a  prospectus  of  the  book,  which  I  carried 
concealed  under  my  coat.  We  had  to  practice  deceit 
to  gain  admittance  to  the  houses,  for  if  ever  any  of 
them  saw  a  book  agent  approachng  they  would  let 
you  stand  there  till  doom's  day  without  answering 
the  bell. 

Next  came  Toledo,  Ohio,  where  we  thought  we'd 
try  a  Thespian  career,  so  we  shanghaied  into  that  un- 
known aggregation  of  "hamfatters."  Looking  ahead 
we  could  see  ourselves  in  the  limelight,  actors, 
"stars,"  if  you  please,  at  a  salary  of  $i,ooo  the  week, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing;  the  rude  awakening  came 
later.  The  cynical  manager,  rejoicing  in  the  name 
of  Hoppstein,  still  owes  yours  truly  a  certain  little 
sum  for  services  rendered  in  a  thinking  part,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  I  have  jogged  his  memory 
several  times  with  a  few  please  remits. 

It  was  in  Toledo  that  we  separated,  Anderson  beat- 
ing it  towards  the  West,  while  I  struck  out  for  home. 
Before  leaving  Toledo,  Anderson  served  a  week  as 
"barker"  for  a  refreshment  stand  and  side-show  of 
the  "Feast  and  Furies"  company.  I  was  in  Toledo 
for  his  first  day's  performance,  and  as  I  looked  at 
that  noisy,  brazen  barker,  I  hazily  remembered  that 
a  few  months  before  I  had  seen  this  same  individual 
in  Cadet  navy  blue,  jauntily  marching  on  dress  pa- 
rade. 

We  had  been  together  nine  months,  sharing  each 
others  joys  and  sorrows.  Each  found  a  good  com- 
.      82 


WANDERLUST 

'     ,u.  nfVier    and  it  was  hard  to  separate. 

KV"     e  or      epaTtfng,  we  signed  a  pledge  to 
However,  oeiu  f  ^^^      ^^s  ^o 

rirxt:  wol^  Lt  m ..  po.  0^.  of 

Palo    Alto,    California,    on    January    5*,    between 
fhe  hours  of  twelve  and  one.   If  it  so  happened  that 

ed  in  the  month  of  August; 


83 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  four  months  during  which  I  was  separated 
from  my  dear  old  pal  soon  passed.  My  time  at  home 
that  fall  was  taken  up  in  literary  and  athletic  circles. 

Christmas  came  and  the  day  was  drawing  near 
for  my  departure  to  the  Pacific  Coast  where  I  was 
pledged  to  meet  my  friend. 

I  left  on  the  day  following  Christmas  and  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  January  4th,  the  day  before  the 
cherished  reunion.  En  route  I  spent  pleasant  short 
stops  in  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  the  Grand  Canyon 
of  Arizona,  and  the  petrified  forest. 

The  morning  of  January  4th,  I  crawled  out  of 
my  bed  in  a  Frisco  hotel  feeling  that  within  a  few 
hours  there  was  to  be  a  happy  reunion.  On  inquiry 
I  learned  that  Palo  Alto  was  only  an  hour's  ride 
from  'Frisco,  a  distance  of  forty-four  miles.  The 
train  was  scheduled  to  depart  at  eleven  o'clock  so 
a  short  while  before  eleven  I  boarded  the  car  in 
front  of  my  hotel  for  the  Townsend  Street  Sta- 
tion. As  ill  luck  would  have  it,  I  arrived  at  the  Sta- 
tion just  five  minutes  after  the  train  for  Palo  Alto 
had  departed.  I  learned  that  the  next  train  would 
not  leave  till  three  o'clock,  so  I  promptly  despatched 
a  message,  which  read: 

Mr.   William   Anderson, 
Palo  Alto,  California : 
Missed  train;  meet  you  same  place  four  o'clock. 

Jack. 

84 


WANDERLUST 

I  waited  around  the  station  till  three  o'clock  that 
afternoon.  We  arrived  in  Palo  Alto  on  time,  four 
o'clock.  When  the  train  had  come  to  a  standstill,  I 
hastily  left  the  car  and  proceeded  by  direction  to  the 
Post  Office.  Palo  Alto  is  but  a  small  University 
town  of  some  three  thousand  nihabitants,  and  as  a 
consequence,  I  had  little  trouble  in  locating  the 
said  office. 

As  I  entered  the  door  my  heart  sank  within  me, 
for  Anderson  was  not  there.  This  disappointment 
quite  upset  me  and  I  hardly  knew  just  what  to  do. 
I  walked  over  to  the  General  Delivery  window  and 
inquired  for  my  mail.    Not  a  line ! 

I  then  hurried  to  the  telegraph  office  and  asked  if 
a  message  had  been  received  there  about  four  hours 
previous  from  San  Francisco  addressed  to  one  Wil- 
liam Anderson,  and  whether  or  not  the  message  had 
been  called  for  by  the  person  to  whom  it  had  been 
addressed.  The  operator  replied  in  the  negative,  so 
then  I  inquired  whether  or  not  there  was  a  message 
there  for  Jack  Rand.  No,  was  the  reply  again.  I 
truly  had  never  felt  so  badh^  in  my  life,  for  after 
looking  forward  to  this  meeting  for  so  long  a  time,  I 
had  to  be  disappointed.  I  really  did  not  know  what 
to  do,  for  I  had  ridden  all  the  way  across  the  conti- 
nent to  meet  my  old  friend,  and  he  had  apparently 
gone  back  on  me.  I  thought  at  least  he  would  have 
kept  his  pledge  and  written  me  of  his  delay,  but, 
alas !  not  even  that. 

Anderson  and  I  had  planned  to  take  a  course  in 
law  at  Leland  Stanford  University  which  is  located 
half  a  mile  from  Palo  Alto,  but  after  this  bitter  dis- 
appointment, I  did  not  care  to  stav,  and  especially 


WANDERLUST 

aftef  I  learned  from  the  registrar  of  the  University 
that  I  could  only  take  up  two  courses  in  law  at  that 
particular  time  of  the  semester. 

I  remained  in  Palo  Alto  some  days,  thinking  per- 
haps that  by  some  miracle  he  might  turn  up  later. 
But  no  such  good  fortune. 

Later  I  returned  to  'Frisco  where  I  spent  a  month 
in  trying  to  obtain  suitable  employment.  I  did  not 
have  an  over  supply  of  cash  capital,  and  consequent- 
ly, after  a  few  fastidious  parties,  I  found  my  cash 
on  hand  sheet  getting  very  short. 

One  morning  I  sat  down  on  the  side  of  my  bed  to 
count  my  little  over,  and  found  that  I  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  five  one  dollar  bills  and  a  five  dollar  note. 
Gee !  but  this  looked  pretty  bad  for  me,  and  I  began 
to  wonder  what  I  was  going  to  do  when  the  money 
ran  out.  After  finishing  my  breakfast  that  morning 
I  glanced  over  the  *Help  Wanted"  columns  and  my 
eye  stopped  on  ''Sailors  wanted.  Ships  sailing  for 
Australia,  India,  China  and  the  Orient.  Apply  Hum- 
boldt House."  I  felt  that  I  would  not  experience 
any  trouble  in  securing  a  place  on  any  one  of  the 
steamers  as  I  had  with  me  an  able-bodied  seaman's 
certificate,  w^hich  I  had  earned  plying  up  and  down 
the  South  African  coast. 

In  the  afternoon  I  strolled  down  to  the  Humboldt 
House,  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  sailor  quarter, 
and  on  making  application  to  the  booking  clerk  of 
the  office,  I  was  not  long  in  signing  up  for  a  voyage 
to  Sidney,  Australia,  and  back  by  way  of  Hong 
Kong,  China.  The  thought  of  a  trip  through  the 
East  pleased  me  highly,  so  I  walked  down  to  where 
the  "Britisher"  was  docked  and  went  aboard.     I 

86 


WANDERUUST 

spent  half  an  hour  on  her  and  when  leaving  told  thtf 
"bowswain"  that  I  would  be  back  the  next  morning 
with  my  outfit. 

The  "Britisher"  sailed  the  following  afternoon,  but 
it  sailed  without  one  Jack  Rand,  for  I  actually  would 
not  have  made  the  trip  on  that  old  shell  had  they 
made  me  captain  of  her.  Every  hand  on  the  boat  was 
a  Chinaman  with  the  exception  of  the  Captain,  First 
Officer,  Engineer  and  the  ''Bowswain."  Those  ugly 
looking  Chinamen  with  their  long  pigtails  hanging 
down  their  bony  backs,  and  keen  edged  knives  stuck 
securely  in  their  belts  did  not  look  any  too  good  to 
me. 

The  night  I  remember  as  well  as  if  it  was  only 
yesterday.  I  left  my  hotel  shortly  after  supper  and 
headed  toward  Golden  Gate  Avenue.  It  was  a  damp 
night  and  I  wanted  to  mingle  with  the  people,  hear 
the  music  of  the  dance  halls,  and  maybe  trip  the  fan- 
tastic myself,  for  I  was  homesick  and  lonely.  My 
little  pocket  account  was  still  decreasing,  and  I 
really  did  not  feel  the  toughness  of  the  position  I 
was  playing  till  that  evening  when  I  found  my 
earthly  belongings  in  the  coin  line  amounted  to  four 
dollars  and  fifty-five  cents. 

Three  thousand  miles  away  from  home  with  a  bad 
cold,  four  dollars  and  fifty-five  cents,  hotel  bill  due, 
not  a  single  friend  or  acquaintance  to  turn  for  as- 
sistance. I  strolled  down  Golden  Gate  Avenue  with 
hands  dug  deep  in  my  pockets,  coat  collar  turned  up 
and  hat  pulled  down  over  my  eyes,  for  it  had  just 
begun  to  drizzle  rain  and  the  breeze  from  the  sea 
was  biting  and  penetrating.  As  T  strolled  along  I  saw 
on  almost  every  side  big  life-size  placards,  and  pic- 

87 


WANDERLUST 

tures  of  Jimmie  Boyles,  the  Amateur  Champion  of 
the  Pacific  Coast,  who  was  booked  to  fight  that  night 
at  the  Dreamland  Skating  Rink. 

Well,  as  I  had  gone  through  with  almost  all  my 
money  in  the  past  week,  I  thought  I  might  as  well 
spend  the  balance,  so  I  planked  down  a  dollar  and 
gained  a  general  admission  to  the  Dreamland  where 
the  fi-ghts  were  to  be  pulled  off  that  night.  There 
were  six  round  contests  on  the  programme  and  the 
big  fight  between  Jimmie  Boyles  and  whoever  wished 
to  try  him  out  would  be  the  last  one  fought. 

In  'Frisco  at  that  time  they  only  allowed  them  to 
go  six  rounds,  and  that  night  there  were  some  hot 
six  rounders  in  the  Dreamland.  It  was  the  first 
time  I  had  ever  witnessed  any  of  the  fights  in  the 
West,  and  I  enjoyed  seeing  them  pound  each  other, 
emphasis  on  the  "pound  each  other."  AVhen  the  first 
six  fights  had  been  completed  the  ring  manager  stood 
on  the  platform  and  announced  through  a  big  mega- 
phone that  any  one  who  would  come  up  and  fight 
Jimmie  Boyles,  the  amateur  champion  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  stay  in  the  ring  with  him  the  six  rounds, 
that  a  purse  of  one  hundred  dollars  would  be  award- 
ed. Jimmie  stood  proudly  leaning  against  the  ropes, 
at  the  same  time  bowing  to  his  admirers,  as  the  yeller 
made  the  announcement  from  all  sides  of  the  plat- 
form. 

Several  volunteered,  but  were  ruled  out  on  account 
of  being  classed  as  professionals.  For  a  while  it 
looked  as  though  they  were  not  going  to  be  able  to 
get  Jimmie  a  fighting  companion.  As  I  stood  there, 
I  thought,  "Well,  I  am  a  darn  long  way  from  home 
and  this  chance  looks  good  to  me,  although  Fm  not 


W  A  N  n  E  R  L  U  S  T 

much  of  a  bruiser/'  Suddenly  I  raised  my  hand 
above  my  head  and  yelled  to  the  man  on  the  plat- 
form that  I  would  fight  his  Jimmie  Boyles.  Those 
standing  close  to  me  turned  and  looked,  while  the 
eyes  of  the  whole  audience  fell  my  way.  I  pushed 
through  the  excited  mob  of  spectators  and  ascended 
to  the  platform,  where  I  introduced  myself,  *7ack 
Condon  from  Richmond,  Va."  I  was  not  long  in  es- 
tablishing my  amateurship,  and  after  being  intro- 
duced to  the  huge  assemblage,  I  repaired  to  the 
dressing  room. 

I  was  then  weighing  one  hundred  and  seventy 
pounds  stripped,  and  when  I  walked  out  on  that  plat- 
form in  regular  fighting  costume  I  felt  like  a  turkey 
nearing  the  axe.  I  appeared  wrapped  in  a  brown 
blanket  and  took  my  seat  in  one  corner,  while  Jimmie 
sat  opposite  me.  A  trainer  sat  on  either  side,  one 
rubbing  my  arms  with  alcohol,  while  the  other  was 
saying,  "Now,  kid,  don't  git  skeered,  but  hit  the  devil 
hard.  YouVe  goin'  to  win,  for  I  feel  it  in  the  dust. 
Ah,  git  out,  what  are  all  these  pretty  muscles  for  if 
you  can't  lick  that  Jimmie  over  there  with  only  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  to  hit  yer  with  ?'' 

The  gong  rang.  I  threw  aside  my  robe  and  walked 
to  the  center  of  the  ring.  I  was  so  scared  I  could 
hardly  breathe;  there  was  a  great  big  lump  in  my 
throat  and  my  knees  were  a  bit  shaky.  Those  knees 
of  mine  did  not  get  very  weak  till  I  got  right  up  to 
that  Jimmie  and  saw  his  face.  He  had  freckles,  and 
I  have  always  been  afraid  of  a  freckled  face  man. 
They  say  they  are  mean  and  will  fight  like  the  devil  ; 
now  I  know  thev  are  mean  and  also  know  that  they 
will  fight  like  hell. 

89 


WANDERLUST 

We  shook  hands,  and  as  I  prepared  to  take  my 
position  and  make  a  grand  stand  show,  he  piled  me 
one  right  square  in  the  right  eye.  This  stunned  me 
for  a  moment  and  I  could  see  only  stars.  When  I 
regained  self-control  I  was  the  maddest  I  have  ever 
been  in  all  my  life.  I  gritted  my  teeth  and  went  at 
that  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  pounder  as  a  buzz 
saw  goes  after  a  knotty  log.  He  was  apparently 
knotty  and  I  intended  to  cut  some  of  them  out.  The 
gong  sounded — end  of  the  first  round.  By  this  time 
my  eye  had  swollen  so  badly  I  couldn't  see  from  it 
at  all.     Five  more  rounds! 

During  the  second  bout  I  hit  that  fellow  a  few 
good  ones  and  I  knocked  him  down  more  than  once 
with  those  big  long  railers,  as  they  term  them  back 
in  North  Carolina.  Along  about  the  fourth  round  I 
saw  that  he  was  going  to  get  the  better  of  me  and 
put  me  out  of  commission  if  I  didn't  protect  myself. 
Then  I  decided  to  keep  away  from  him  as  much  as 
possible,  and  in  the  sixth  round  he  was  chasing  me 
around  the  ring  like  one  rooster  does  another  in  the 
pit.  Whenever  he  cornered  me  I  would  clinch  with 
him,  and  as  a  consequence  the  official  would  neces- 
sarily consume  some  time  in  breaking  us.  I  cared 
not  iiow  long  it  took  to  separate  us,  for  my  game 
was  a  time  killing  one.  I  only  wanted  to  last  the 
six  rounds  so  I  would  be  able  to  get  my  purse,  for 
such  was  my  only  salvation. 

The  very  last  of  the  sixth  round  he  forced  me  to 
the  ropes,  and  just  as  the  gong  rang  he  drove  me  a 
straight  from  the  right  shoulder  which  landed 
squarely  on  my  eye.  This  blow  sent  me  over  the 
ropes  of  the  platform  and  I  fell  to  the  floor,  twelve 

90 


WANDERLUST 

feet  below.  I  remember  distinctly  that  terrific 
punch,  but  I  do  not  remember  having  hit  the  floor. 
The  next  morning  I  was  barely  able  to  see,  for 
both  eyes  were  swollen  dreadfully  and  my  poor 
head  was  paining  terribly.  Two  swollen  eyes  and 
a  big  knot  on  the  head  was  enough.  On  awakening 
my  first  question  was,  "Did  I  win?" 

"You  sure  did,"  replied  one  of  the  fellows  in  the 
training  quarters,  for  it  was  there  I  had  spent  the 
night.  I  secured  my  hundred,  and  two  days  later  I 
was  on  a  Southern  Pacific  sleeper  bound  for  my 
home  back  in  dear  old  North  Carolina. 

For  several  weeks  after  my  return  I  waited  and 
wondered  what  had  become  of  Anderson.  He  had 
failed  to  turn  up  at  the  appointed  place,  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  and  he  had  even  neglected  to  write  me. 
I  had  just  about  given  him  up  for  dead  when  one  day 
I  received  a  letter  from  him  informing  me  why  he 
had  not  shown  up  on  January  5th  in  Palo  Alto,  and 
also  explaining  why  he  had  not  written  or  weired  me 
as  agreed.  It  thoroughly  vindicated  him.  There 
seemed  to  be  some  "hoodoo"  about  his  existence  for 
having  unusual  things  happen  to  him,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence he  was  always  doing  the  unexpected. 

His  letter  read: 

Pueblo,   Colo. 
My  Dear  Jack  : 

As  I  commence  this  letter,  old  man,  I  feel  very  much 
like  a  prisoner  with  an^  excellent^  case  of  circumstantial 
evidence  against  him,  striving  to  vindicate  himself,  and  at 
the  same  time  knowing  the  task  to  be  an  extremely  diffi- 
cult  one. 

Now,  you  have  doubtless  wondered  why  I  didn't  live 
up  to  the   mutual  agreement,  didn't  let  you  know   imme- 

91 


tW  A  N  D  E  R  L  U  S  T 

diately  of  anything  which  turned  up  to  prevent  me  from 
doing  so,  and,  strangest  of  all,  why  I  haven't  written  you 
long  before  this. 

Now,  Jack,  i  am  going  to  try  to  explain,  although  it  is 
a  mighty  hard  thing  to  do  on  paper,  but  before  I  begin,  I 
want  to  remind  you  that  while  you  and  I  have  peddled 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  warm  oxygen  together,  that  I 
have  always  been  "on  the  square"  with  you,  as  I  trust  you 
have  with  me :  so  don't  think  that  I've  taken  this  from 
one  of  last  century's  novels,  for  every  word  of  it  is  gos- 
pel truth,  so  help  me  God! 

I  will  begin  with  the  minor  things  leading  up  to  the 
climax  and  grand  finale,  so  that  you  can  more  fully  com- 
prehend it.  You  see,  old  man,  I  went  back  to  Dakota  with 
the  purpose  of  earning  money  and  saving  it.  I  surely 
earned  it  with  the  sweat  of  my  brow,  as  the  "Good  Book" 
says,  but  it  was  the  old,  old  story.  It  slipped  through  my 
fingers.  Well,  I  went  from  Arlington  to  Huron.  Work 
then  was  beginning  to  get  rather  scarce,  but  I  went  to  a 
boarding  place,  and  by  a  straightforward  story  secured 
board  in  advance.  Then,  for  a  time,  I  managed  to  get 
just  about  enough  work  to  liquidate  my  weekly  board  bills. 
Finally  the  thing  petered  out  about  altogether,  but  I  was 
given  credit  for  a  week.  During  that  week  of  hanging 
around  I  waxed  loquacious,  and  revealed  a  little  of  my 
past  history.  That  made  it  good  for  another  week.  Then 
I  told  them  that  I  expected  money  from  home,  which  I 
did.  I  then  wrote  for  twenty-five  dollars,  which  I  received 
in  company  with  a  lengthy  sermon,  and  paid  fifteen  dollars 
out  for  board,  leaving  me  with  a  miserable  little  ten  dollar 
bill. 

Now,  in  the  good  old  halycon  days  at  the  Academy  we 
used  to  convert  our  language  phonographs  into  roulette 
wheels,  and  in  recreation  hours — and  not  infrequently  in 
study  hours — gamble  for  requisitions.  We  agreed  that  all 
the  fellows  who  should  be  "ousted"  from  the  Academy 
should  be  paid  cash,  if  winner,  as  the  "reqs"  would  be  use- 
less to  them. 

Our  room  was  raided  by  upper  class  men  one  day,  and 
the  thing  found  out,  but  as  the  midshipman  in  charge  was 
certain  of  "bilging"  himself,  he  didn't  report  us,  but  simply 
gave  us  unofficial  hell  instead.  Well,  when  the  game  was 
broken  up,  a  certain  Rogers  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  was  in 
debt  to  yours  truly  to  the  extent  of  twenty-five  dollars.  I 
made  a  hurried  departure  from  AnnapoHs,  and  furthermore 

92 


WANDERLUST 

I    didn't   care   to    mention    such    a    then    trifling    thing    to 
Rogers,  as  1  had  between  five  and  six  hundred  dollars. 

Well,  you  know  how  we  arranged  it — went  to  Pitts- 
burg, then  to  Chicago,  and  due  principally  to  your  good 
management,  we  never  got  to  the  stage  where  1  had  to 
ask  for  it.  Every  letter  Hardin  wrote  me  how  he  really 
believed  Rogers  meant  to  pay,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing. 
To  make  a  long  story  brief,  Rogers  never  was  man  enough 
to  ofifer  to  close  the  little  "debt  of  honor,"  and  I  was  too 
proud  to  ask  him.  When  leaving  Huron,  though,  I  wrote 
him  a  letter  asking  him  to  send  it,  in  part  or  in  full,  to 
Omaha.  Nebraska ;  I  depended  on  his  honor  and  started 
out.  Went  to  Sioux  City.  Iowa,  on  a  cattle  pass  and  left 
most  of  my  capital  there.  When  I  took  an  acount  of  my 
coin,  found  that  I  possessed  less  than  three  dollars,  and 
the  fare  to  Omaha  was  three  dollars  and  fifteen  cents. 
I  went  to  the  Bureau  of  Information,  and  found  that  I 
could  go  to  Blair,  Neb.,  for  amount  on  hand.  Accordingly, 
I  paid  passage  to  Blair,  trusting  to  luck  to  catch  a  freight 
train  out  of  Blair,  and  I  figured  that  even  if  this  failed  I 
could  walk  it,  the  distance  being  only  twenty-four  miles. 

Arriving  at  Blair,  broke,  I  slept  in  the  depot  over-night 
— Christmas  Eve — think  of  it !  Woke  up  Christmas  Day 
■without  a  cent,  and  feeling  like  the  wrath  of  God.  Oh, 
yes,  it  was  a  merry,  merry  Christmas.  Finding  that  no 
freight  trains  were  running  on  account  of  holiday.  I  solilo- 
quized, "Well,  William  B.  Anderson,  ex-midshipman. 
United  States  Navy,  it's  up  to  you  to  make  the  best  of 
your  way  via  'the  hoof  to  Omaha,  so  get  thee  busy  at 
once." 

I  knew,  or  thought  I  knew,  I  would  find  a  money  order 
for  twenty-five  dollars  there.  Arrived  in  Omaha  about 
dusk,  footsore  and  weary,  and  went  at  once  to  the  P.  O., 
only  to  find  to  my  intense  anger  and  chagrin  that  it  was 
"Closed  on  Account  of  Holiday." 

I  marched  on  the  double  quick  to  a  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph office,  and  scribbled  a  lengthy  telegram  for  funds. 
I  was  told  that  it  would  have  to  be  "O.  K.'d"  by  the  man- 
ager before  it  could  be  sent  Collect — so  I  waited  three 
hours  or  thereabouts  before  that  personage  finally  materi- 
alized. The  long  wait  didn't  tend  to  calm  my  general  feel- 
ings of  irascibility.  I  handed  the  form  to  him,  and  after 
half  scrutinizing  it,  he  told  me  that  he  couldn't  pass  on 
it  and  have  the  risk  of  its  not  making  good  at  the  other 
end,  but  if  I  would  cut  out  about  three-fourths  of  it,  he 

93 


WANDERLUST 

would.  Now,  I  knew  that  every  single  little  word  was 
absolutely  necessary,  and  tried  to  reason  with  him,  but 
to  no  end.  Then  all  the  bad,  irascible,  ruffled  feelings  that 
had  accumulated  within  me  for  the  last  couple  of  days 
surged  forth,  and  I  read  the  riot  act  to  him  as  it  had 
never  been  read  before.  I  never  thought  I  was  capable 
of  such  a  supply  of  inventive.  It  did  no  good,  of  course, 
and  ended  in  my  being  shown  the  door  by  the  uniformed 
attendant. 

I  went  to  the  Postal  Telegraph  with  almost  the  identical 
result,  so  broke,  but  not  in  spirit,  I  walked  the  streets 
till  morning,  and  then  sat  in  a  saloon  till  business  opened 
up  and  I  could  get  my  bearings.  I  went  to  the  Post  Office 
as  soon  as  it  opened,  asked  for  my  mail,  but  received 
a  brief  "Nothing.''^  I  went  to  an  employment  agency  and 
asked  for  a  job  in  a  restaurant,  having  had  nothing  to 
appease  my  hunger  for  more  than  a  day.  Told  him  I'd 
make  good  when  I  got  paid.  He  wouldn't  do  business  on 
those  grounds,  but  said  he  had  received  a  'phone  call  for 
a  man  to  beat  carpets  just  for  the  day,  and  that  if  I 
wanted  that,  he  wouldn't  charge  me  anything.  I  wanted 
it  all  right.  I  reasoned,  "Well,  within  two  weeks  I'll  be 
attending  college,  but  Jack  and  I  did  it  once  when  we 
were  up  against  it,  so  it's  good  enough  for  me  now  and 
nobody  need  ever  know.'* 

I  went  to  the  address  handed  me,  a  private  family  of 
the  middle  class,  and  applied.  A  good  looking  young 
woman  brought  me  a  line  and  a  couple  of  carpet  beaters, 
and  I  smiled  as  I  thought  of  the  time  you  and  I  used  to 
utilize  them.  At  noon  she  showed  me  where  to  wash, 
invited  me  to  lunch,  and  really  treated  me  elegantly.  She 
asked  me  my  name,  and  a  whole  lot  more,  and  then  told 
me  that  she  and  her  mother  rather  liked  my  looks,  and 
wished  I'd  stay  and  sleep  in  the  vacant  house  to  which 
they  intended  moving,  and  help  the  men  transfer  the  dif- 
ferent articles  from  one  house  to  another.  I  had  intended 
staying  the  one  day  only,  thus  getting  sufficient  to  send 
home  for  outfit  and  fare  to  Palo  Alto,  but  she  didn't  un- 
derstand my  case,  of  course.  She  thought  she  was  doing 
me  a  favor,  and  as  she  "looked  awfully  good  to  me,"  I 
stayed,  and  that's  really  the  beginning  of  the  story  proper, 
the  former  part  being  merely  prelude. 

At  night  the  young  woman's  husband  came  home.  He's 
head  broker  for  one  of  the  largest  packing  houses,  and 
she  told  him  about  it.     He  was  a  little  insignificant  runt 

94 


WANDERLUST 

with  a  glass  eye,  and  the  tip  of  his  olfactory  organ  betok- 
ened more  than  a  speaking  acquaintance  with  beverages  of 
an  alcoholic  nature.  He  was  pleasant  ^^  first  but  he 
by  no  means  approved  of  his  ^^fe's  interest  in  me^  ^he 
orobably  regarded  me  as  a  mere  child,  but  I  liked  to  thmk 
Stherw  se.  He  stayed  at  home  the  next  day  "to  help  move 
of  course.  He  made  several  significant  remarks,  such  as, 
"Your  hands  don't  look  like  those  of  a  ^fboring  man 
"You  say  you're  from  Richmond,  Va.,  but  you  hav  en  t 
much  Southern  accent."  "It's  funny,  one  yrith  your  control 
of  languages,  and  apparent  education  should  be  beating 
carpets^'  I  knew  he  wasn't  saying  this  to  peddle  iny  good 
qualities  to  his  pretty  little  spouse,  the  shrimp  so  I  at 
once    suspected   that   he    possessed    a   streak   for    amateur 

^'welriTelped  him  move,  and  he  watched  me  as  a  cat 
does  a  mouse!  but  I  didn't  blame  him,  as  he  had  several 
articles  of  value  among  his  stuff.  We  had  most  ot  the 
a?  c  es  moved  by  night!  but  as  things  were  strewn  around 
fn  topsyturvy  fashion  in  the  new  house,  he  concluded  to 
remain  in  the  old  apartments  that  night. 

He  sent  me  after  two  keys,  for  the  front  and  back  doors 
of  the  new  house,  and  said  he  would  pay  me  and  dismiss 
me  when  I  returned.     I  went  to  the  locksmith's  and  got 
Se  Two  keys,  but-well,  you  know  how  careless  and   ab- 
sent mended   I   am,   and   when   I    returned   I'll  be   damned 
HI  could  find  but  ine  of  them-I  had  lost  the  other.    Then 
he  as  much  as  told  me  that  I  had  bidden  the  key  or  given 
ft  to   Tn  accomplice,  so  that  I   could  go  over  and  unlock 
the   door  of  the  new  house   and  help  myself,  and  that   it 
strengthened  his  convictions  all  along  that  I /idn  t  work 
for  a  living..  That  sure  made  me  hot  under  the  collar,  and 
got  eloquent  and  told  him  that  his  theories  were  prepos- 
terous in  the  extreme,  and  that  I  was  well  aware  of  the 
fact  that  I   was  no  Hercules,  but  if  it  were  not  for  the 
kind    treatment   of   his    wife,   I'd   thrash   him    right   fere^ 
I    got   warm   and   excited   and   reached   in   my   pocket    for 
my  handkerchief  to  wipe  away  the  perspiration.     That  lit- 
tle   fool  must  have  misunderstood   my  purpose,   ^or  then 
old   man    honest   Injun,   cross   my  heart,   he   ran   over   to 
^he  dresser    took  a  loaded  revolver  from  the  drawer,  and 
fired      The' bullet  went  through  the  glass  back  of  me  with 
a  racket  capable  of  waking  the   dead.     His   wife  /ainted, 
I   ru'hed  h?m,   and  hit  him    a  left  hook  that  would  have 
broken  any  punching  machine  manufactured. 

95 


WANDERLUST 

This  sounds  rather  boastful,  considering  my  slight 
build,  but  I  was  in  a  heat,  and  it  meant  a  whole  lot  to 
me  how  hard  I  hit  him.  That  cowardly  whelp  then  let 
out  a  blood  curdling  yell,  and  went  down,  and  I  realized 
what  a  fix  I  was  in.  The  shot  and  yell  must  have  attracted 
the  attention  of  passing  pedestrians,  for  they  all  gathered 
in  front  of  the  house.  Not  wishing  my  name  to  be  given 
so  much  publicity  in  an  affair  of  that  calibre,  I  took  the 
bunch  of  letters  in  my  inside  pocket,  went  over  to  the 
range  and  threw  them  in,  just  as  a  cop  appeared  on  the 
scene.  Seeing  the  state  of  things,  the  cop  hit  me  over 
the  head  with  his  nightstick,  and  after  viewing  at  close 
range  planets,  heavenly  satellites  and  other  decorations  of 
the  lirmanent,  I  must  have  collapsed ;  when  I  revived,  I 
had  on  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  and  the  little  measly  runt  was 
concluding   his   one-sided   story. 

Well,  then,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  but  not  the 
last,  as  you  will  see  later,  I  was  arrested.  Went  up  before 
the  judge  next  A.M.,  and,  to  condense  my  story,  the 
kernel  of  the  judge's  remarks  to  me  was  that  I  looked 
young  and  unlike  a  criminal,  but  as  I  had  burned  my  let- 
ters, thereby  admitting  carrying  a  fictitious  name,  and  was 
also  in  a  strange  town  with  no  visible  means  of  support, 
he  would  have  to  convict  me  of  vagrancy,  and  concluded 
his  remarks  by  saying  that  he  hoped  it  would  teach  me 
a  lesson.  Thirty  days !  My  God !  don't  attempt  to  imagine 
my   feelings. 

Well,  there's  a  whole  lot  more  I  could  tell  you,  but  that's 
the  principal  part,  and  improbable  as  it  all  sounds,  that's 
the  true  story  of  the  successive  links  of  evidence  which 
resolved  themselves  into  the  complete  chain  of  circum- 
stantial evidence  which  kept  me  away  from  Palo  Alto. 
I  had  a  crumpled  postal  in  my  pocket,  and  penciled  on  it 
"Don't  condem  me,  Jack,  until  you  hear  my  story."  and 
begged  a  negro  to  mail  to  you  for  me.  I  addressed  it  to  you 
at  Palo  Alto,  California,  but  I  doubt  if  you  ever  received 
it,  as  when  I  got  out  a  couple  of  weeks  later,  your  letter 
awaited  me  at  the  Post  Office,  forwarded  from  Huron, 
and  you  didn't  say  anything  about  having  received  the 
postal  card. 

W^ell,  the  judge  visited  me  during  my  confinement,  and 
drew  out  of  me  my  real  name  and  address,  but  none  of 
my  past  history  or  future  plans,  and  he  at  once  surmised 
that  I  was  some  kid  who  had  rambled  from  home  and 
mother,  so  he  wrote  my  father  a  lengthy  letter^  the  tenor 

e6 


WANDERLUST 

of  which  was  that  a  boy  claiming  to  be  his  son  was  con- 
fined in  that  city  on  a  charge  of  vagrancy,  and  that  while 
the  boy  was  bright  and  inteUigent,  he  was  most  assured  y 
on  the  wrong  path  of  life.  He  believed  that  a  kmdly 
interest  by  my  parents,  manifested  at  this  time,  would 
work  wonders  in  transforming  me  into  a  future  good  arid 
useful  citizen.  He  further  added  that  his  advice  would 
be  to  send  either  my  railroad  ticket  home,  or  sufficient 
capital  to  start  me  out  on  some  new  project,  as  he  really 
believed  the  young  man  meant  well..  Pending  an  answer 
to  his  letter  he  would  keep  me  apart  from  the  toughs  and 
general  habitues  of  the  bull  pen.  ,  .,     .  ,    ,  . 

Now  he  read  this  note  to  me,  and  while  it  appealed  to 
my  sense  of  humor,  I  couldn't  imagine  what  would  happen 
if  he  sent  it,  so  I  fairly  begged  him  not  to  do  so,  telling 
him  that  my  folks  thought  I  was  doing  well,  and  I  ^prom- 
ised more  things  than  I  can  think  of,  so  he  didn  t  mail 
the  letter,  but  instead  let  me  out  a  couple  of  weeks  after 

my  arrest.  ,      ,•  i       j.       j 

When  I  received  your  letter  I  was  much  disheartened 
to  see  the  Asheville  post  mark,  as  it  told  me  that  you 
had  taken  the  trip  across  the  continent  for  nothing  at  all— 
and  also,  old  man,  while  your  letter  was  more  polite  and 
courteous  than  could  be  expected  under  such  circumstances 
I  could  see  between  the  lines  all  that  you  left  unsaid  and 
what  you  thought  of  me.  and  that  the  letter  was  lacking 
in  the  old  time  enthusiasm,  but  God,  old  man,  I  couldn  t 
help  it,  and  can  never  express  in  words  the  sorrow  1  feel 
in  having  disappointed  you.  ,   ,  ,     ^        ,       u  t,-   ^    t 

When  I  left  the  Academy,  and  left  Reordan  behind,  1 
thought  that  I  could  never  again  find  a  friend  who  under- 
stood me  so  well,  or  who  was  understood  so  well  by  me 
but  a  few  weeks  later  I  was  pleasantly  surprised,  and  1 
know  up  to  last  January  you  possessed  a  kindred  feeling 
and  had  faith  in  me.  Probably  you  may  have  some  idea 
of  the  way  I  feel  at  having  deadened  the  feeling  of  one 
whom  I  considered  my  warmest  friend,  yourself,  when 
you  recollect  that  the  chief  thing  I  have  done  or  tried 
to  do  thus  far  in  life  is  making  friends,  and  keeping  their 
good   regards.     Had  I   enjoyed   less,   I'd  be   at   Annapolis 

Every  acquaintance  of  mine  from  Chicago  to  Pueblo,  by 
way  of  Huron,  has  heard  of  you  through  me,  but  I  can  t 
say  enough  by  letter  to  make  me  feel  right,  so  1 11  knock 
off    but  if  you'll  answer  at  once  telhng  me  that  it  is  all 

97, 


er*  f 


WANDERLUST 

right,  and  mean  it,  you'll  make  me  feel  a  whole  lot  better. 
I  am  fully  aware  of  the  trouble,  expense  and  annoyance 
I  caused  you.  God  knows  any  one  would  have  had  their 
faith  shaken,  and  most  people  would  have  sent  me  a  letter 
that  would  have  fairly  scorched  the  paper.  To  think  that 
after  looking  forward  to  the  time  for  months,  with  the 
greatest  of  pleasure,  that  something  unforseen  should  turn 
up  that  couldn't  have  disappointed  you  more  had  I  plotted 
the  whole  thing  out  in  advance !  And,  take  it  from  me, 
that  I  was  never  more  disappointed.  But  this  talk  doesn't 
relieve  my  feelings. 

Well,  I  sent  home  for  fifty  dollars,  which  came  in  due 
time,  as  I  didn't  wire,  but  wrote  explaining  full  particulars, 
but,  needless  to  say,  I  didn't  tell  them  of  the  arrest,  as 
I'd  never  had  the  nerve  to  face  them  again  if  I  had.  With 
this  money  I  purchased  a  ticket  to  Denver,  Colorado,  and 
from  Denver  here.  I  am  working  as  assistant  timekeeper 
in  the  Open  Hearth  Division  of  the  Colorado  Fuel  and 
Iron  Works,  but  I  got  my  foot  slightly  burned,  and  intend 
to  quit  and  go  to  El  Paso,  and  from  there  to  Mexico. 
Almost  had  my  ticket  bought  when  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  man  named  Straight,  who  has  a  son  at  the 
Academy,  and  he  is  one  of  the  grand  high  Moguls  in  this 
town,  with  boundless  influence,  both  political  and  other- 
wise. He  has  promised  me  something  good,  so  I've 
changed  my  mind,  but  I  may  change  it  again  before  long 
and  travel. 

Well,  old  man,  I  have  been  dreading  and  deferring  it, 
but  now  the  explanation  is  over  with,  thank  God,  and  I 
await  with  anxiety  the  verdict. 

Goodby,  old  man,  tell  me  all  about  yourself  and  your 
plans  when  you  write,  and  let  that  be  soon,  then  I'll  answer 
at  once. 

With  best  regards,  I  remain, 

Your  old  pard, 

William    B.   Anderson. 

Needless  to  say,  I  forthwith  informed  Anderson 
it  was  "all  right,"  and  our  careers  since  then  have 
proved  that  our  mutual  disappointment  was  for  the 
best. 

THE  END. 

98 


